Premier Dennis Fentie has announced a byelection will be held in the Copperbelt riding on Monday, Nov. 21.

The announcement was issued from the cabinet office this morning.

'We're very excited,' said NDP Leader Todd Hardy. 'Im very, very pleased that this has finally happened and I'm sure many people in Copperbelt are also smiling right now.'

The writ for the byelection will be dropped tomorrow.

The Elections Office confirmed this morning that a proclamation has been issued to the Chief Electoral Officer, Patrick Michael.

Michael will now have the responsibility to issue the writ to the returning officer by tomorrow.

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

Arntzen quit after he received a 15-month conditional sentence for his convictions of the indecent assaults of two women in the 1970s.

Fentie indicated a byelection in the Copperbelt riding would be held in the 'immediate future.'

However, approximately a month and a half has passed since Arntzen's resignation. He'd triumphed in the 2002 election as a Yukon Party candidate.

'This is long overdue news,' said Arthur Mitchell, the Liberal leader and the party's candidate for the riding.

'It's unfortunate that (Fentie's) waited so long that the newly-elected MLA will miss so much of the session.'

The legislature is scheduled to begin its fall sitting next Thursday.

With the byelection not occurring until late November, and another week being needed before the MLA is sworn in, the new representative will not likely take his or her seat in the house until approximately Nov. 28.

This means that person will miss approximately 17 days of the sitting that generally lasts only 30 days.

Hardy agreed it's unfortunate the residents of Copperbelt will miss having an elected representative for such a large portion of the sitting.

However, he added, the NDP will do its best to represent the concerns of Copperbelt residents in the house. The party is also confident its candidate, Maureen Stephens, will do well in the byelection.

'We're looking forward to the contest,' he said.

Stephens has been talking to residents in the riding since the summer. Since she won the party's nomination on Sept. 22, she's been in the community knocking on doors.

'I'm just really looking forward to the campaign,' Stephens told the Star this morning. 'I'm really enjoying talking to people in the community.'

Key themes that are continuing to be raised in the riding are substance abuse and health care, she said.

She added she has heard several residents express frustration with the governing Yukon Party.

'They're angry with the Yukon Party around the whole Arntzen issue,' she said.

The NDP put forward a motion last May asking for Arntzen to resign his seat following his convictions.

The Yukon Party refused to debate the motion and it died on the floor of the house.

Stephens said if the Yukon Party had at least permitted the motion to be discussed, it could have shown the community that abuse is intolerable, without trampling on Arntzen's judicial rights.

'(Copperbelt residents) want to see an MLA who will be upright, honest and ethical,' she said. 'That's me.'

Now that the byelection has been called, Stephens will be taking a leave from her job at Yukon College to commit herself full-time to the campaign.

Mitchell has also been out in the community campaigning on evenings and weekends, and estimates he has been to several hundred doors.

'It's nice that it's finally official,' said Mitchell.

He told the Star that key issues he is hearing are concerns about education, economic diversification and the appearance of organized crime and substance abuse in the community.

'People want change and strong representation,' he said.

Mitchell is also committing himself full-time to the campaign, though he currently has some responsibilities, and is finishing off some work on a 'couple listings' with his job at RE/MAX. However, the realtor is no longer taking on new clients.

The Yukon Party's nomination is schedule for 7:00 this evening at the Yukon Transportation Museum.

Daryl Novakowski and Cynthia Kearns have stated their intentions of seeking the party's nod to run in the riding.

Fentie was unavailable for comment this morning.