The federal and territorial governments are seeking to clarify their positions with any future votes on a proposed land claim settlement for the Carcross-Tagish First Nation.

Chief federal negotiator Tim Koepke, assistant deputy minister Karyn Armour of the Yukon government and referendum co-ordinator Maria Benoit of the first nation held a press conference Friday afternoon to explain a discrepancy with one of the two referendum questions.

The first nation is holding a referendum to ask its members if they want a second vote on their land claim and self-government packages. The first vote, held last April, failed to garner the necessary support for approval.

The first question on the referendum ballots mailed out last week simply asks if the voter supports a second vote.

With last April's rejection, Carcross-Tagish became the first Yukon first nation to vote down a proposed settlement, though the two Kaska first nations of southeast Yukon broke off negotiations three years ago.

The second question on the referendum asks members if they would support reducing the threshold for approval of the agreements to a simple majority from ballots cast.

Koepke pointed out Friday, however, that it has always been the position of the federal government that there must be no uncertainty with the support for a land claim agreement, given their significance and impact on individual aboriginal rights.

It has been the position of both the federal and territorial governments that agreements must receive approval from at least 50 per cent, plus one, of all eligible voters, regardless of whether they all vote or not, he pointed out.

The veteran negotiator of almost two decades said the second question on the referendum ballot is moot, as there is no way the federal and territorial government will go below the requirement of 50 per cent, plus one, of eligible voters.

Setting the record straight now is necessary to remove any chance of accusations that the federal and territorial governments rigged the rules after the referendum results are known, he said.

Koepke said it was unfortunate the misunderstanding was not caught before the ballots went out, but there will be no finger-pointing.

And with time running out on March 31 for the last extension of the federal mandate to conclude land claims agreements in the Yukon, it's imperative they move forward with the referendum process to see where everything stands, he said.

Should the Carcross-Tagish membership vote to hold a second vote on their land claim and self-government packages, the actual ratification process could go beyond the March 31 deadline, he explained.

'I guess we are prepared to take the risk that any information campaign that would accompany a second vote, that this would be made abundantly clear,' Koepke said of the minimum support required.

While the federal and Yukon governments have a minimum, the first nation can set the requirement for approval higher.

In the case of Carcross-Tagish, the first nation stated approval for its agreements would require support from 60 per cent of the eligible voters.

Should the first nation choose, it could reduce the 60-per-cent threshold to somewhere between 60 per cent and 50 per cent, plus one, of eligible voters, Koepke said.

Not only did the first nation fail to garner its 60-per-cent support last April, it didn't even get 60 per cent of the membership out to vote, meaning if every member who did vote approved the deal, it still would not have passed.

The first nation representative said a good deal of effort has gone into tracking down members who were not reachable for the last vote. The number of what are termed 'lost souls' has dropped from 100 to 18, Benoit pointed out.

Members of the Carcross-Tagish First Nation have until Feb. 12 to vote.

The advance poll is scheduled for Jan. 27, 28, with the final three days of polling scheduled for Feb. 10, 11 and 12. There will be polling stations in Carcross, Tagish and Whitehorse.

Federal spokeswoman Katy Mead said the federal government paid $170,000 for the first ratification process, and will pay for the second if a second vote is called for, though the budget won't be set until later.

For last April's vote, there were 596 eligible voters, of whom 58.2 per cent cast ballots.