The list of Cancon drama series that were either launched in 1995 or financed and produced in the same year is nothing short of impressive. Traders, Wind at My Back, Jake and the Kid, Urgence and Omerta: The Code of Silence all qualify, as does season two of Due South.

Maybe we should all sing while we can, because the days of this type of programming are, according to forecasts, numbered. Some would argue we shouldn’t bother gathering round the cultural campfire. After all, are these programs Canadiana in verite or simply northern interpretations of the American model? Atlantis Films president Seaton McLean touches on the subtleties when he says, ‘Our economy is based on selling outside the country and there is a difference between being a successful entrepreneur selling your wares around the world and being a carpetbagger with projects that masquerade as Canadian shows.’

Take Traders. It’s the new kid on the block, launched with rousing support by its broadcaster, CanWest Global and, thanks to some very creative financing at home, about as close as possible to being free of international pressures. Or is it? Every Thursday it airs opposite er, a choice CanWest argued was best considering the options of a slow slot, a poor night or the risk of u.s. domination. It seems about as likely Canadian shows will be free of u.s. influences as a quick resolution will be found in the regulatory war that is currently being fought between wic and CanWest.

While wic is struggling to alter the stone-inscribed rules of the Broadcasting Act in order to survive in a competitive environment dominated by CanWest in bids for u.s. programming, why would a Canadian series carry the torch with no one waiting at the receiving end? Especially when the dibs are so high. Consider the $30,000 to $100,000 margin for an hour of u.s. primetime drama with 50 grand considered a bit of a bargain. Then consider what that $100,000 would do for a Canadian one-hour series that cost about $1 million per episode to produce. It would be worth less than a handshake and a wink in Freedonia.

Then there is the issue of whether, without commercially viable product, commercial incentives at the government funding agencies and support of the industry overall via the constant pour from the service industry, would Canada have an industry to worry about at all?

While on the one hand everyone waits with bated breath for Minister Copps’ new production fund, word on the point system of the tax credit that could potentially act as a disincentive to foreign partnerships, new specialties and the possibility of some domestic dth in this country, no one is biding their time. As Atlantis’ McLean says, ‘We’re all out there trying to find new ways to skin the same cat.’ Now, is that a Canadian kitty or