After City of Edmonton staff awarded a kitchen contract at Victoria Golf Course to a multi-national corporation, Councillor Scott McKeen sees what he considers a bad decision and wants to make the best of it.

Houston-based Civeo Corp. says it is buying Noralta Lodge Ltd. of Edmonton for $367 million in a deal that unites two major providers of workforce accommodation in the oilsands region of northern Alberta.

Spring had been slow at Mariana Lake Lodge - until now. Owner Civeo said in the past week, its 10 Fort McMurray-area camps have provided beds for 6,000 people and served 20,000 meals.