The Yukon will play host to premiers from around the country during their annual gathering in 2016.

The event will mark the first time a territory has chaired the Council of the Federation.

The 57th summer meeting of Canada’s provincial and territorial heads will be preceded by a day of discussions with leaders from national aboriginal organizations.

Premier Darrell Pasloski made the announcement last Friday afternoon as this year’s premiers’ conference wrapped up in Charlottetown.

“It will be a great chance to showcase the Yukon to Canada. But it’s a great deal more than that,” Pasloski said in an interview.

“Hosting means that you become the spokesperson to all of Canada’s premiers for a year. And I think that speaks to the confidence that Canada’s premiers have in the Yukon ... and our maturity as a territory.

“I know that Yukoners will welcome the opportunity to display our rich history and vibrant culture,” he added in a release.

“Chairing the Council of the Federation and hosting Canada’s premiers’ conference as well as national aboriginal leaders’ meetings in Yukon will be an excellent opportunity to advance issues of importance to northern people and to Canada.”

The premiers will be flocking to the territory in an election year. Pasloski will be completing the five-year mandate his Yukon Party received in 2011.

“The opportunity to chair the Council of the Federation is a significant and historic achievement,” Pasloski said in his statement.

“I have great confidence that Yukon is ready for the considerable duties and responsibilities of this national leadership role.”

At this year’s conference, the premier cited progress on several fronts.

He said taxpayers across the country saved $250 million through bulk buying of generic drugs over the past year.

Four more drugs have now been added to the six already on the bulk-buying list.

“Two hundred fifty million is not a drop in the bucket,” he said, responding to criticism from Jan Stick, the NDP critic for social services and continuing care.

“We pay some of the highest costs for prescription drugs,” she noted in an interview last week.

The premier conceded on that point, saying he is trying to “make our systems more sustainable,” partly by looking at a new territorial Pharmacists Act.

Pasloski said the premiers had cut red tape that sealed off jurisdictions from each other and impeded employment mobility and interprovincial trade.

“There’s a lot of regulatory differences between provinces and territories.”

He gave the example of different requirements around the number of hours needed for an apprentice to become a Red Seal journeyman.

Other areas where rules variations can pose a problem include trucking and transport and health and safety: “For the same first aid kit, every province or territory wants something different in theirs.

“So how do we get through those sorts of barriers and come up with some standardization?” Pasloski asked.

“It’s good for Yukoners if you get rid of red tape and allow savings.”

Pasloski has agreed to continue as co-chair of the working group on health care innovation, along with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Prince Edward Island Premier Robert Ghiz.

The working group was established in 2012 “to drive health system transformation and innovation,” the cabinet release stated.

“The Council of the Federation enables premiers to work collaboratively to strengthen the Canadian federation by fostering a constructive relationship among the provinces and territories and with the federal government.”