It turns out Justice Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee and Yukon RCMP Chief Supt. Scott Sheppard aren’t exactly having a meeting of the minds.

The two are telling distinctly different tales of the state of affairs for the territorial RCMP resources.

Sheppard told the Star Thursday morning the local RCMP are in serious need of more resources to handle the escalating cost of services. The service is at the point where it’s running a deficit, he told another media outlet.

McPhee, meanwhile, says the government has pumped more than adequate resources into the police force. She told reporters at the legislature Thursday afternoon she has no idea of why Sheppard is disagreeing with that.

“There must be some confusion,” she said.

McPhee said she had talked to Sheppard after his remarks to the media went public Thursday morning.

“We had a good conversation, but there must be some confusion,” she said.

Questioned on where that confusion lies, she told reporters they would need to speak further to Sheppard.

She pointed to the establishment of the Historical Crimes Unit as one example of where the government has provided extra funding.

Two officers are assigned to that unit, McPhee said, along with an administrative worker.

Those two positions go on the books as permanent additions this year, McPhee added.

That clashes with what Sheppard told the Star Thursday. He said no front-line positions have been added since 2016, when he arrived, despite some increases in funding over those years.

“The last increase for members was in 2016,” he said in contrast to McPhee’s comments.

“The strain on policing is increasing, and the demands for policing are growing.”

Sheppard also said he would like to see funds provided by the government so a dedicated drug enforcement unit could be created.

He estimated the Yukon loses $120 million a year on drug-related matters, including treatment, loss of life, enforcement and productivity.

Interestingly, he said as many as five organized crime networks are operating in the Yukon at this time, on a regular basis. Other are here intermittently.

Most of that activity is focused on drug trafficking and its spin-offs, as well as human trafficking, Sheppard said.

He declined to identify them, but said the intelligence was gathered with the help of British Columbia police.

“We’ve had a close look at this,” he said.

“Everyone is looking for resources,” Sheppard said.

“The Yukon and Whitehorse is becoming an increasingly busy place. There’s a difference between providing funding for the cost of policing and money for putting more boots on the ground.”

McPhee was also grilled on the subject by Yukon Party MLA Brad Cathers.

“(Thursday) morning, the commanding officer of the Yukon RCMP delivered a stunning indictment of this Liberal government’s failure to properly resource the RCMP,” the MLA said.

He made it clear that the police force is seriously under-resourced.

Despite the Yukon’s rapidly-growing population and rising trend in criminal activity, funding from this Liberal government has not been sufficient.

“When will the Liberal government start properly funding the RCMP in the Yukon?”

As she did with reporters, McPhee said, “I had an excellent conversation (Thursday) morning with Chief Supt. Scott Sheppard.

“We spoke about the budget items that are in the 2022-23 budget — which are currently before this legislative assembly and are being debated — and the opportunities that the passing of that budget will bring with the increased funding to the RCMP.”

They also spoke about future opportunities for YG to provide resources to the RCMP through the discussions, she added.

“As I said, we had an excellent conversation, and I certainly conveyed our support for the work that the RCMP is doing here in the territory as our territorial policing service.”

Cathers retorted: “Talk is cheap.”

He added, “The RCMP have requested more resources and are in serious need of more money and more RCMP positions.

“So far, the Liberal government and this minister have failed to meet these needs.”

“Despite the fact that there are as many as five organized crime operations in the territory, this government still has failed to provide adequate resources to the RCMP.”

McPhee told him, “I appreciate the vigour with which the member opposite is bringing this question, but there were clear misunderstandings about the concept of the RCMP funding.

“There has been a 19.8-per-cent increase in actual spending from the 2016-17 budget for the RCMP to the 2020-21 and a 16.5-per-cent increase to their spending authority.

“We have a number of very significant increases in this budget — the 2022-23 budget that is before the legislative assembly — including $1.1 million to address additional concerns that they have about operations, including things like fuel, materials, and administrative costs that are required.”

Cathers was having none of it.

“The minister can try to paint a rosy picture all she wants, but she knows very well that most of the increase provided is due to collective agreement increases and to cover inflation,” he said.

“They have had to pull resources out of other branches to try to keep up with the challenges facing the crime reduction unit.

“What is absolutely clear from the interview is that the RCMP is in desperate need of an injection of O&M funding and of new positions, despite what the minister tries to spin here in this House,” Cathers said.

“None of this will be possible unless this minister and this Liberal government finally start taking Yukon’s policing needs seriously.”