Squandered

Eric Cline practiced law in his hometown of Saskatoon prior to serving 16 years in the Saskatchewan legislature, where he held several senior cabinet positions, including Health, Finance, and Industry and Resources. After politics, he worked for 12 years as a corporate executive in the mining sector before establishing an arbitration practice and working as a professional fused-glass artist.

“Exposes the irresponsibility of Saskatchewan’s potash industry management...and examines the consequences of choices made.”—Prairie Books Now“Cline certainly doesn’t come across as Hugo Chavez in a Roughriders jersey; he’s not calling for the province to seize back control of the mines and their profits. But after reading the long lists of company profits…it’s hard not to agree…”—The Literary Review of Canada“A significant contribution to thinking about resource policy.”—Jim Stanford, Economist and Director, Centre for Future Work “...an important account of how various Saskatchewan governments betrayed the public trust in favour of corporate profits.”—Winnipeg Free Press“A penetrating analysis of how successive Saskatchewan governments failed to claim the potash wealth owed to the people of the province.”—Dale Eisler, From Left to Right“Eric Cline has written an important book that should outrage."—Ken Rasmussen, Director of Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Regina “This provocative, well-argued, and important book . . . is destined to become a standard work on the political economy of this province.”—Ken Coates, Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation, University of Saskatchewan “Eric Cline understands what a tragic, once-in-history lost opportunity this is for the people of Saskatchewan. He lived the consequences as Finance Minister. He tells this enraging and outrageous tale in this book. Which might just persuade you it’s time for a change.”—Brian Topp, Max Bell School of Public Policy, McGill University

• List of TablesPrefaceIntroductionChapter 1: The Importance of PotashChapter 2: Branch Plant Potash Mine DevelopmentChapter 3: Public Ownership through the Potash Corporation of SaskatchewanChapter 4: Privatization of the Potash Corporation of SaskatchewanChapter 5: Potash Mines Can’t Be Moved to ChicagoChapter 6: Integration of the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan into NutrienChapter 7: Consequences of Choices Made in 1989, 2010, and 2018Chapter 8: The Profits of PotashChapter 9: Fixing the Potash Tax ProblemChapter 10: Corporate Windfall, Saskatchewan Shortfall ConclusionAcknowledgementsAppendix A: Value of Potash Sales and Payments to Public Treasury, 1962–2022Appendix B: Potash Production Volume and Average Price, 1997–2022 NotesBibliographyIndex