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“The mandate we’ve been given is to ensure we do the best we can to ensure that any changes we make are not disruptive,” Pushor said. “We want to make sure that, as we move to whatever we do, it’s something that ensures our production levels continue, our market share as a province continues, the great jobs that are out there for all the people working in the industry aren’t disrupted.”

Reduced demand and growing production capacity have caused potash prices to fall to less than $300 per tonne from their 2008 peak of more than $900 per tonne, and Saskatchewan mining companies have not been unaffected.

The Mosaic Company laid off 46 employees in October, while PotashCorp temporarily halted production at three Saskatchewan mines in December and announced this week that it would “indefinitely” shutter its Picadilly, N.B., operation and rely instead on its Saskatchewan mines, which are cheaper to operate.

In November, PotashCorp CEO Jochen Tilk told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that the company — which expects the government’s tax adjustment to cost it between $100 million and $150 million in pre-tax earnings — would support a “fair and mindful” review. He stood by that statement this week, but added a cautionary note.

“Fair and mindful is appropriate (but) I would hope that this isn’t a priority right now,” Tilk said. “I think, quite frankly, that we’re all in this together. Saskatchewan and PotashCorp and our peers in the industry, we all need to be competitive right now.”