For the Yukon Party, the Liberals and the NDP, there's a lot at stake in Monday's Copperbelt byelection.

The governing Yukon Party would like to win the seat to prove it has support from Yukoners, in the hopes of winning a second mandate come the general election deadline of November 2006.

The NDP would like to take the riding and continue to build up its role as the official Opposition and move toward what summertime polls showed that it's likely posed to form the next government.

And, the Liberals have their leader, Arthur Mitchell, running in the byelection hoping to give him the opportunity to prove himself in the legislature before another election call.

The high-stake politics set the stage at last night's all-candidates' debate at Ecole Emilie-Tremblay.

Many of the questions sounded more like they were directed at party leaders in a general election than byelection candidates.

'It's Yukoners' first opportunity to send a message to the Yukon Party,' Mitchell told the Star, adding he suspects people are posing broader questions to test his stance as party leader.

However, with trouble getting the debate organized and a lack of advertising, only about 40 people were in attendance.

The event started almost 15 minutes late as organizers waited, hoping more people would show up on 'Yukon time'.

Mitchell said many of the people attending the debate were individuals who have already decided who they will be voting for.

Based on the clapping and cheering after many of Yukon Party candidate Cynthia Kearns' answers, it appeared as though most of the room consisted of party supporters, including some cabinet ministers.

As the candidates took the stage, the legs of the table kept Mitchell from sitting in the centre. He had to choose whether he wanted to sit to his right with Kearns or to his left with NDP candidate Maureen Stephens.

He chose to sit on the left with Stephens leaving Kearns at the far end of the table on her own.

Mitchell then spent much of the evening agreeing with Stephens' statements and expanding on them slightly with a Liberal slant.

Most of the debate's questions revolved around the economy.

When asked for her ideas on how to keep the economy strong, Kearns said the best thing to do was to 'vote for the Yukon Party.

'It is growing. If it ain't broke, don't fix it,' she advised.

'People under proper guidance, proper leadership creates economic strengthen. With the assistance of a very strong leader (Premier Dennis Fentie), which we have right now, our economic growth is quite solid and will continue.'

Stephens disagreed.

'I know Mr. Fentie likes to take kudos for a booming economy,' she said. 'But, we live in a boom-bust economy up here with resources, and what we are (doing now) is enjoying what's happening across western Canada, and it's not because of what this government here is doing,' she said.

'We have a boom going on now, but be sure there's going to be a bust that comes. We need something to get us through those.'

Stephens said there needs to be a diversification of the Yukon economy.

She added one of the most effective means of bettering the territory's economy is to ensure there is a strongly educated population.

Stephens said she'd like to see a Yukon university established, saying having a pool of educated people, especially coming from a northern perspective, would greatly aid the economy.

There is a need to educate and give people jobs in the North rather than bringing people from the South to perform jobs, she said.

However, there is more than just a strong economy needed in the territory, she added.

'I don't care how much money is going in the economy if you have an unsafe, unhealthy community, people aren't going to stay and people aren't going to be happy.'

Mitchell agreed with Stephens on several points. Young people are one of the most valuable resources to the Yukon economy, he indicated.

'I'm not convinced that we have grown our economy, because what we've seen is a huge increase in federal transfers,' said the former Atlin, B.C. businessman and current Whitehorse realtor.

It's important to diversify so the Yukon continues to build its own capacity, said Mitchell.

Other issues at the debate included doctor shortages, child care and building a new school in the riding.

'When the Yukon Party took office (in 2002), the child care system was grossly underfunded,' said Kearns.

'(Now,) we are second only to Quebec for the best-funded child care program in Canada. I think that speaks volume for the Yukon Party, actually.'

She also said her party has taken 'huge strides' in the area of education, and there is a demonstrated need for a school in the riding with land already set aside.

'We don't talk about it. We take action,' she said of the party's initiatives.

Mitchell stressed it's important not to make decisions ad hoc or 'on the fly in the midst of an election campaign.

'I'm certainly supportive of building new schools, but it's unfortunate how politicized this became and how the decision came to be announced after it was denied for several days,' he said of the possibility of building a new school in Copperbelt.

Liberal plans on social issues include developing forgivable loans for physicians and looking at policies to strengthen the day care system.

Stephens said it's important to provide good government and not make multimillion-dollar decisions on how to spend taxpayers' money without having done research.

'That's proper diligence to what the needs are in the riding and to taxpayers' money,' she said.

There needs to be an examination of how to retain doctors, the possibility of creating a government-sponsored clinic, an investigation into options around a public non-profit day care system and the possible creation of venture funding to help the economy.

The candidates were also asked if they would oppose promoting an individual to cabinet if that person held outstanding loans to the territory. The question referred to the over-$300,000 owed by Yukon Party cabinet minister Peter Jenkins.

Kearns avoided the question. She instead placed blame for the loans not being dealt with sooner on Pat Duncan's former Liberal government.

'I don't understand why the Liberals didn't take action on those loans. It wasn't just the one loan; there were several.'

Her response gained a few boos from the audience and demands of 'Answer the question.'

Stephens indicated the NDP put forward a private member's bill previously that looked at creating legislative changes to keep individuals owing money to the government from even running for an elected position in the legislative assembly.

The Liberals would change the standard so no one owing money could sit as a cabinet minister, said Mitchell.

Throughout much of the debate, Kearns raised her eyebrows and smiled to the crowd as the two other candidates answered the questions.

At one point, she told the attendees, 'I'm not a politician, so I can only answer as a layman.'

Ten questions were posed to the candidates, most of which attacked a particular party's stance on an issue.

'For the most part, things are going well,' said Kearns. 'People are happier, people are more secure, people are spending more, people are coming here with the intention of staying.

'Before casting your vote on Nov. 21, please ask yourselves, Are Yukoners better off now than they were before the Yukon Party took office?' I think your honest answer will help you make your right decision.'

Stephens gave residents the commitment of good governance and full-time ethical representation.

'(The NDP) can make our communities safer and healthier. We can influence the future by making the government work better on your behalf,' she said.

Mitchell, who also contested the riding in the 2002 election, said it's time for governments to stop criticizing the work of past representatives and to move forward with the work that 'governments do best.'

He committed to represent Copperbelt constituents in an ethical manner, while also working on the issues of concern, including substance abuse, highways and health care.

The byelection became necessary following the resignation of independent MLA Haakon Arntzen on Sept. 9.

Arntzen was elected as a Yukon Party representative in 2002 but left the caucus after charges of assault in relation to two women were laid against him in 2004.

He quit his job as an MLA after he received a 15-month conditional sentence last spring.

He is appealing the conviction and sentence.