[S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only.]

First Nations, the provincial government and the oil and gas industry have devised a memorandum of understanding for their dealings and are seeking ratification. Negotiations began following a March 24 announcement that the provincial government was providing $1.2 million in short term funding so the industry and First Nations could plan for the future as well as financing interim measures. The money was to allow the five bands who are members of Treaty 8 (Blueberry, Doig, Halfway, Salteau and Prophet River) and three other bands to hire staff on six month contracts to deal with the oil and gas industry. Treaty 8 tribal chief Judy Maas said the bands had been having difficulty dealing with the industry for a long time. They didn't have money to process applications. In some cases councils charged the companies fees for the processing.