What a difference a year makes. This time last year, when producers convened at the CFTPA’s annual Prime Time in Ottawa, the mood couldn’t have been more somber.

In a post-conference wrap, Playback described the atmosphere as follows: ‘Funding concerns always dominate the conversation when producers get together, but anxieties reached a fever pitch at Prime Time in Ottawa 2004.’

Top of mind last year were comments made by newly minted Ontario Minister of Finance Greg Sorbara that the Liberal government was pondering scrapping the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit. Producers were also waiting to hear from the federal government whether it was planning to restore the $25 million it had cut from its annual $100-million CTF contribution.

Alliance Atlantis had just announced that it was getting out of production and shuttering Salter Street Films because of what it described as a ‘permanent downturn’ in domestic and international demand for drama.

It was also becoming glaringly clear that the 872-page report Our Cultural Sovereignty, tabled after years of study by the standing committee on Canadian heritage – and which was supposed to be a roadmap to broadcast system reform – had found its way to the bottom of the Ottawa River.

The soaring loonie was at US$0.76, the fallout from SARS was a bad dream only just ended and there was much concern over financial incentives being introduced in places such as Louisiana and Hungary.

The film and TV industry in Canada was, all agreed, about to fall right off the precipice.

Well, today, not only have Ontario’s production tax credits not been shelved, they have been boosted to levels competitive with other provinces and jurisdictions around the world, as have those in Quebec and British Columbia. And the federal government restored its CTF contribution in its 2004 budget.

Alliance Atlantis is still out of production, but many mid-level producers are working to pick up the slack, including former Salter bosses Michael Donovan and Charles Bishop, who opened up The Halifax Film Company in May.

And lo and behold, the heritage committee retabled its mammoth report to Parliament in December.

Now if someone could just do something about the darn loonie.

Certainly the mood at this year’s Prime Time stands to be significantly more upbeat.

After years of hard times, there is an easing of the pressures that have been stifling production, not just in Canada, but also around the world. Demand in the international market is on the upswing for youth programming and appears to be picking up on the documentary side as well. Both are staples for producers here at home. Meanwhile, the international appetite for reality programming is showing signs of being quenched, which could mean good things for drama production.

So have we seen the bottom? Maybe.

But it reminds me of the story of the businessman during the market crash of 1929, who, while on the phone to his stockbroker, leaps out his office window, the phone still at his ear. On the way down, his broker says to him, ‘Listen, I’ve good news and I’ve got bad news.’

‘Okay,’ the businessman says, ‘give me the bad news first.’

‘All right. Your office is 400 feet above the sidewalk. You’re certain to die.’

‘What’s the good news, then?’ asks the businessman.

‘Well, I’m pretty sure you’re about to see the bottom.’