With the future of arts funding and the Canadian Television Fund perhaps hanging in the balance, western producers remain jittery about which direction Ottawa will head with the Tories back in power, and, in particular, what will become of the region’s recent gains in series production.

‘Our industry isn’t feeling very confident about the federal environment right now,’ says SaskFilm CEO Susanne Bell, following recent culture cuts by the Tories – $45 million from programs including Trade Routes and the National Training Schools Program.

She notes that Saskatchewan producers have benefited over the years from Trade Routes and the National Screen Institute’s training initiatives, and that these programs have been a key factor in developing the skill sets of western producers so that they are able to compete in the Canadian and world marketplace.

Ottawa’s current cold climate towards the film and TV industry is raising red flags that other programs could be on the chopping block, including the CTF, which has helped grow production in the west.

Worries about the future of CTF have been mounting for some time, though western producers have their own specific concerns.

Manitoba Film & Sound CEO Carole Vivier says the loss of CTF would decimate the recently developed production communities in that province and elsewhere, adding that TV series wouldn’t get made in this country without the fund.

‘Series offer the most opportunities for growing the crew, as well as offering opportunities for local writers, directors and actors,’ she says. ‘Series also tend to stay locally for post, so that provides many other job opportunities.’

In 2007/08, the western provinces combined received just over $53 million from the CTF, triggering more than $180 million in production volume. The fund has been in place for a dozen years and is due for renewal in March.

But the impact of cuts to the CTF would be felt beyond the television industry, adds Vivier.

‘Series production offers Canada some real economic benefits that would disappear without the CTF,’ she explains. ‘There are all the support services, from car rentals and hotels to restaurants. If that was gone the economic impact would be phenomenal. I had the owner of a local paint store tell me that if it wasn’t for the film and TV work, his year would have been terrible.

‘This is an industry, just like mining and transportation, except it is cultural. These are high-skilled, high-paid jobs that are important to the economy,’ says Vivier.

Kevin DeWalt, principal of Regina-based Minds Eye Entertainment, says that without the CTF both the production and broadcasting community in Canada would be ‘devastated.’

‘I really don’t believe the broadcasters would come to the plate with the extra money for production,’ he says. ‘Drama and high-end docs would disappear in this country and we would be back to the dark ages of Canadian TV in terms of budget and quality.’