Premier Darrell Pasloski was in Niagara on the Lake last week to meet with fellow premiers from across the country.
Yukon’s increasing prominence at Council of the Federation meetings is an indication of the territory’s maturity, he said in an interview Friday.
Pasloski has been named as one of the chairs of a health-care innovation working group.
“This is significant for a couple reasons,” he said. “One, it allows me to bring to the leadership of this working group my experience professionally as a health-care professional,” said Pasloski, who worked as a pharmacist before entering politics.
“But I think what it also does is recognizes our growing and maturing role within the federation and recognizing that as a territory Yukon has the ability to be able to co-chair such a working group.”
The premier left the meeting eager to discuss the Yukon’s looming power shortage.
“It’s time to move forward and begin the discussion on building Yukon’s next hydroelectric dam. And that vision will allow us to really create economic opportunities and prosperity that will benefit Yukoners for generations.”
The Council of the Federation has agreed that its 2016 meeting will be held in the territories.
The territories will decide amongst themselves who will host, but Yukon is ready and willing, said Pasloski.
“We’re looking forward to the opportunity to have that discussion with the other two territories and perhaps be hosting the CoF in 2016.”