Here’s a plan to keep the mood upbeat despite a bad-news year as hundreds of Canadian producers, broadcasters and other industry bigwigs gather for the annual CFTPA conference: Hold the conference in Ottawa in February, throw an opening night cocktail party at the legislature and line delegates up outside for 40 minutes in -30 degree temperatures on windswept Parliament Hill.

Then, when they gather the next day to hear how convergence is a dream never to be fulfilled; production growth has stalled dead in its tracks; drama is all but dead; and producers should defer their fees if they really, really believe in a project, you are guaranteed that the mood will remain downright giddy. That’s because despite all the negative messages inundating producers, at least they’re not freezing their frickin’ butts off every day in this Godforsaken Ottawa winter.

And so it was as producers from across the country gathered for the CFTPA’s Prime Time earlier this month.

For the record, the long, cold wait (Did I mention the cold?) was due to mismanagement by security staff on Parliament Hill, which had only one metal detector in use where two were scheduled. Attendees were checked one by one to make sure no one was planning to bomb the East Block as revenge on the feds for eliminating the production services tax shelter.

Indeed, the mood was quite buoyant over the two-day conference. This despite the largely bad-news agenda facing delegates.

Topping the list was the production stall. As we reported Feb. 3, growth was flat in 2001/02, with production volumes remaining at the previous year’s levels of $5.1 billion. The disconcerting news is that the underpinnings of this drop-off will not be eliminated anytime soon. The CFTPA, in presenting the data at Prime Time, cited ‘a downturn in global markets, the failure of convergence strategies and a drive towards cheaper television programming’ as trends that played a role in the slowdown. For these there are no easy fixes.

Foreign financing of domestic production alone dropped 41% since last year. Couple that with the closing of the production services tax-shelter last year plus a push in the U.S. to stem runaway production – both potential drains on service work – and it’s easy to see how the slowdown could soon turn to recession.

This is a cold reality when compared to the sizzling growth experienced throughout the 1990s, which saw volumes increase from $2.3 billion in 1994/95 to the current level. Much of that growth was fueled by foreign location work, which over that period more than tripled from $539 million to $1.76 billion.

Still, as Doug Barrett, chairman of PS Production Services, pointed out to delegates during the ‘State of the Canadian Industry Report’ session, there may be a silver lining. ‘Many industries have become stronger in the face of uncertainty,’ he said. ‘The challenge is will the industry respond… and come out in a more robust way?’

It’s a good point. From Beethoven to Muhammad Ali to Lee Iacoca, history tells us that greatness can emerge in the toughest of times. For those who can adapt, the best may yet be ahead.

For those who cannot, well, maybe an Ottawa February won’t seem like such a bad option after all.