Article content

As Calgarians welcomed news that Parkland Fuels Corp. will create 270 jobs at a new downtown headquarters, another Alberta city wasn’t in quite so celebratory a mood.

The Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF) announced earlier this month it will provide Parkland with up to $4 million to consolidate its national operations in the city.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Varcoe: Calgary on slippery slope using public money to nab Red Deer jobs Back to video

While the majority of the 270 positions will be new hires, about 100 roles — primarily in finance and IT — will be relocated from the company’s offices in Red Deer, according to Parkland.

“Any job loss is concerning and obviously we don’t want to be competing with other municipalities,” Red Deer Mayor Tara Veer said in an interview.

“We are all in the same boat, in terms of the recession and the consequences for our community.”

Critics are blasting the move as a subsidy to a profitable business, while proponents say Calgary is simply meeting the needs of a growing company looking to expand.