CBC English Television Drama violates own code of ethics

One of the things we have become all too familiar with over the past three and a half years since our sons were killed is the excuses of government employees who don't follow - or even bother to read - their own policies and guidelines.

In that regard, our complaint about CBC is based on the premise that certain employees in the English Television, Drama section, have violated CBC's own code of ethics in failing to consult with the victims parents and families who were most affected by the Bathurst tragedy. We keep on waiting for a phone call from these people but here we are, over five weeks since the Dream Street Pictures made for television movie "The Phantoms" was announced and we have yet to hear from anyone at Dream Street Pictures or CBC English Television.

We don't know about CBC, but our code of ethics is based on respect, consideration and consultation - not exploitation of a tragedy that is still too close to our hearts only three and a half years after our sons were taken from us in a terrible tragedy.

Here, in black and white, on its own website, are CBC's own policies and guidelines which ensure "adherence to principles and ethics, which are enshrined in the Corporate Code of Conduct Policy." Can you find the part where they have violated their own code of ethics by failing to consult with the families of the Boys in Red tragedy?

Click here to read CBC Policies and Guidelines


All employees of CBC/Radio-Canada have an obligation to carry out the functions and activities of their position with the highest level of integrity, consistency and transparency, in a professional and ethical manner, ensuring adherence to the principles and ethics, which are enshrined in the Corporate Code of Conduct Policy 2.2.21.

Click here to read "Code of Conduct" on line

Code of Conduct

EFFECTIVE DATE: November 2006
RESPONSIBILITY: Senior Vice-President, Human Resources and Organization
STATEMENT

All employees of CBC/Radio Canada are expected to abide by the principles and ethical behaviours as outlined in the Code of Conduct Policy, in the daily performance of their duties.
Statement of Corporate Values

Public Service, Excellence, Creativity, Teamwork

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. In the fulfilment of this critical role, the Corporation’s core values include public service, excellence, creativity and teamwork. In keeping with these core values, many people with diverse talents and perspectives work together to deliver public broadcasting of the highest possible standards.
Statement of Individual Values

Integrity, Fairness, Respect, Compliance with Laws, Avoiding/Managing Conflicts of Interest

All employees of CBC/Radio-Canada are expected to adhere to the highest ethical standards in the performance of their duties to foster an environment of integrity, respect and trust and to preserve and enhance CBC/Radio-Canada’s reputation. The values of integrity, honesty, fairness and respect are essential to create and maintain a workplace that is characterized by civility, professionalism, tolerance, dignity, and freedom from discrimination or harassment. Compliance with both the letter and the spirit of the law, the exercise of good judgment in avoiding or dealing with conflicts of interest, the protection of privacy, and maintaining confidentiality are further elements that are critical to achieving the Corporation’s goals in this regard.

This Code of Conduct is intended to offer a broad range of guidance about the standards of integrity and business conduct, but no code can address every situation that individuals may encounter. For this reason, this Code does not relieve employees of the responsibility and accountability to exercise good judgment and, in circumstances where they are unsure as to the proper course of action, to seek guidance from others.
Compliance with Laws

Employees need to be aware of and comply with both the letter and the spirit of the laws and regulations that affect how they do their jobs. The reputation of the Corporation depends upon its employees’ commitment and ability to fulfil this responsibility. The Corporation is fully committed to complying with all legal requirements applicable to the Corporation’s business. Many of CBC/Radio-Canada’s activities are subject to complex and changing legal requirements. Employees’ supervisors, the Law Department and the Tax Advisor are available for consultation whenever an employee is in doubt about the interpretation of any legal requirement.
Compliance with CBC/Radio-Canada Policies

Employees must be familiar with the corporate policy framework that guides and governs their behaviour in the performance of their day-to-day activities and conduct themselves in a manner consistent with those policies and this Code of Conduct.

The corporate policy framework at CBC/Radio-Canada sets out the requirements and guidelines for employees in a number of subject areas covering topics dealing with Human Resources, Finance, Information Technology, and Programming, to name a few.

Employees are expected to review and consult these policies as required in order to ensure their compliance with policy provisions.

Failure by an employee to comply with the provisions of any CBC/Radio-Canada Corporate Policy may result in disciplinary action against the employee, up to and including, immediate dismissal.
Respect in the Workplace

CBC/Radio-Canada is committed to promoting a workplace that reflects the values of respect, dignity, professionalism, tolerance, equity and diversity.

This means that:

Every employee must behave in a respectful and professional manner in all dealings related to their employment, whether dealing with other employees, suppliers, consultants, or members of the public. Behaviour that is disrespectful, offensive, intimidating or humiliating, intentional or otherwise, will not be tolerated. Behaviour of this nature not only demeans others, but also threatens CBC/Radio-Canada’s ability to build a workplace where everyone can feel safe, comfortable and able to produce their best work.
Discrimination and harassment will not be tolerated in any form against or from any group or individual – fellow employees, suppliers, job applicants or members of the public – including discrimination on the basis of race, colour, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, physical or mental disability, or a criminal offence for which a pardon has been granted.
Employees are required to promote and support an inclusive work environment, one in which individuals are accorded equity in employment processes, procedures and practices.


Privacy

CBC/Radio-Canada is committed to controlling the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information in accordance with all requirements set out in the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. Employees who collect, maintain and/or use personal information, are responsible for complying in all respects with the corporate policy and procedures governing the collection, use and disclosure of this information.
Protection and Use of CBC/Radio-Canada Property

Employees should not use CBC/Radio-Canada property or assets for anything other than legitimate CBC/Radio-Canada business purposes. Employees are expected to take good care of CBC/Radio-Canada property and not expose it to loss, damage, misuse or theft.
Protection and Use of Information Technology Assets

Employees have an obligation to protect and use CBC/Radio-Canada’s IT Assets responsibly, in conformity with applicable federal and provincial laws, for the purpose of their work, and to take reasonable steps to safeguard these assets from damage, loss or theft.

Employees are provided with access to CBC/Radio-Canada IT Assets for business use and for the purpose of performing job-related activities. Although some limited personal use will be tolerated, it is subject to CBC/Radio-Canada Policy and must not interfere with or detract from employees' assigned tasks.
Dealing with Conflicts of Interest

Employees are expected to adhere to the highest ethical standards with respect to conflicts of interest, outside activities, the acceptance of gifts and hospitality, and in all dealings related to their position with the Corporation. Employees must ensure, to the extent possible, that their personal interests do not come into conflict with those of the Corporation. If a conflict does arise, it must be resolved in favour of the best interests of the Corporation.

This means that:

Employees are required to perform their duties and arrange their private affairs in a manner that will prevent actual, apparent or potential conflicts of interest from arising.
Employees are expected to act in a manner that will bear the closest public scrutiny in all dealings related to the Corporation or their responsibilities as employees.
Employees should not knowingly take advantage of, or benefit from, information that is obtained in the course of their official duties and that is not generally available to the public.
Employees should not accept gifts, hospitality or other benefits that may have an actual, apparent or potential influence on their objectivity in carrying out their official duties or that may place them under an obligation to the donor.


Protection of the Environment

CBC/Radio-Canada is committed both to the protection of the environment and to the principle of sustainable development – meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Employees are required to conduct their functions and activities in an environmentally responsible manner and in accordance with the principles set out in the Environmental Policy.
Health and Safety in the Workplace

CBC/Radio-Canada is committed to the health, safety and well-being of its employees. Officers and managers must take reasonable precautions to provide and maintain a healthy and safe workplace.

Employees must contribute to the safety of their work environment by complying with all safety directives and objectives of management and by taking all reasonable and necessary precautions to ensure their own safety and health and that of other persons affected by their work.
Official Languages

All employees must support the Corporation's commitment to meeting its obligations under the Official Languages Act.

Employees must respect the right of other employees to work in the official language of their choice in all fully and partially bilingual locations. Employees must also ensure that members of the public are able to communicate with the Corporation in both official languages in all designated significant demand offices.

Employees must support the development and maintenance of the required bilingual capability in the Corporation through appropriate recruiting and selection processes.
Impartiality

CBC/Radio-Canada must remain and appear to remain impartial in carrying out its responsibilities as Canada’s public broadcaster. It is essential that the CBC/Radio-Canada neither holds, nor appears to hold, a position on any matter of public concern or controversy.

To preserve the impartiality of the Corporation, employees in certain categories, either because of their public identification with the Corporation or because of their potential for influencing election-related programming, are restricted from engaging in political activity or from taking public positions on matters of public concern or controversy.
Reporting of Wrongdoings

In the event that an employee becomes aware of a serious breach of this Code of Conduct, or any other wrongdoing or illegal activity in the workplace, he/she has, by virtue of the duty of loyalty owed by employees to their employer, a responsibility to report that wrongdoing. Furthermore, an employee who, in good faith, reports any serious breach or other wrongdoing, is protected from reprisals for so doing.
APPLICATION

All CBC/Radio-Canada employees regardless of employment status unless excluded by contract or otherwise indicated in a collective agreement.
RESPONSIBILITY

Line management is responsible for the implementation of this policy, in consultation with Human Resources.
REFERENCES

By-Law on Conflict of Interest
By-Law on Officers and Employees
By-Law on Contracts with the Corporation
CBC/Radio-Canada Solemn Declaration

Corporate Policies:

Program Policies:

1.1.2 – Stereotypes in CBC/Radio-Canada Programming
1.1.3 – Guidelines on Sex-Role Portrayal
1.1.5 – Good Taste
1.1.12 - Free Travel
1.2 – Journalistic Standards and Practices

Management Policies:

All Human Resources Policies:

2.3.2 – Assets
2.3.4 – Cash Funds
2.3.6 – Procurement
2.3.8 – Delegation of Financial Authorities
2.3.9 – Duty Entertainment, Receptions and Staff Functions
2.3.11 – Fraud and Theft
2.3.13 – Gifts, Donations and Other Contributions
2.3.23 – Travel Management
2.5.1 – Corporate Information Technology Security
2.9.1 – Records and Information Management
2.9.2 – Personal Information and Privacy Protection
2.9.3 – Delegation of Signing Authority
2.9.4 – Disclosure of Wrongdoings (Whistleblower Policy)
Relevant Collective Agreements


HISTORY

Previously Appendix A of the Human Resources Policy 2.2.3 Conflict of Interest and Ethics effective January 1, 2003.
Replaces previous Human Resources Policies including Conflict of Interest no. 1.6, Outside Work 1.10 and Outside work by Announcers 1.11


PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION:

All questions pertaining to the interpretation or application of this policy should be referred to the Vice-President of People and Culture or delegate.
DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE TO UPDATE THIS WEBPAGE

Corporate Secretariat

CBC/Radio-Canada
Code of Conduct agreement for managers and supervisors

Managers and supervisors are responsible for distributing this Code of Conduct to their employees and providing guidance on any item in this Code. All managers and supervisors affirm that they have distributed the CBC/Radio-Canada Code of Conduct to their employees by signing this agreement.

I acknowledge that I have distributed to my employees the CBC/Radio-Canada Code of Conduct on _____________________, and that I have clarified for my employees the standards established by this Code as required.
Signature: ________________________________
Date: ____________________
Name: ___________________________________
Title: ____________________________________
Area/Department: _________________________

Click here to read CBC Policies and Guidelines

Telegraph Journal: Moms ask watchdog to probe CBC's part in 'The Phantoms'

Film: Three Bathurst women whose sons died in van crash object to television movie

A4 SHAWN BERRY Telegraph-Journal

FREDERICTON - The mothers of three boys who died in a 2008 van crash in northern New Brunswick are asking the federal auditor general to probe the CBC's participation in a film about the tragedy's aftermath.

Click here to read article in Telegraph Journal


Isabelle Hains, Ana Acevedo, and Marcella Kelly - the mothers of Daniel Hains, Javier Acevedo and Nicki Kelly respectively - have objected to filming of The Phantoms, named after the Bathurst High School team. Their sons, along with four teammates and the coach's wife, died in the Jan. 12, 2008 crash when the van they were travelling in collided with a transport truck during a storm.

The three women are asking interim Auditor General John Wiersema to investigate whether the public broadcaster's participation in Fredericton-based Dream Street Pictures' made-for-television movie The Phantoms is ethical.

In their letter to the federal auditor general, the mothers say senior officials at the CBC "made a decision to support the development of this film without any consideration whatsoever to the inevitable outcry from the victims' parents and families."

Producers say the film will be about how the team and the community rallied after the tragedy and went on to win a provincial basketball title the next year.

In an interview Tuesday, Isabelle Hains said it's improper for the federal broadcaster to participate in "a feel-good movie based on the deaths of our children."

She doesn't want the film made anytime soon, pointing to the three-decade gap between the plane crash that claimed the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and the release of the 2006 motion picture about the aftermath of that incident.

"I've said it before, We Are Marshall - it took them 30 years to make that movie," she said. "Here we're three and a half years later."

"If we could stop this movie from being made and postpone it for years to come, this is all that we want to do right now."

Earlier this week, the mothers asked New Brunswick's auditor general to investigate the awarding of a $250,000 film tax credit for the production.

Jeff Keay, a spokesman for the CBC, said the process followed in the deal did not violate any of the CBC's own code of conduct or ethics rules.

"No, it doesn't. We've followed our usual process," he said in an email Tuesday evening.

Rick LeGuerrier, co-producer of the The Phantoms, says the filmmakers are sensitive to the subject matter.

"We're respectful of what is being expressed in the community," he said.

John McLaughlin, superintendent of District 15, has seen the script and said he was comfortable with the way the story is being told.

"That speaks a lot to us about the kind of support there is in the community of Bathurst," LeGuerrier said.

"We're going to tell this story with all of the abilities we have to be as respectful as possible and tell this wonderful story," he said.

Edmonton Journal: Parents of N.B. crash victims want review of film funding

By Bradley Bouzane, Postmedia News

The mother of one of seven New Brunswick high school basketball players who lost their lives in a van crash three years ago says it's too soon for the tragedy to be the subject of a film — and there should be a review of a provincial tax credit given to the film's producers.

Click here to read original article in Edmonton Journal

Isabelle Hains and two other women — Ana Acevedo and Marcella Kelly, who also lost their sons in the Jan. 12, 2008 crash — wrote this week to the provincial and federal auditors general asking them to review the circumstances of a $250,000 grant to a New Brunswick production company that is filming a TV movie about the tragedy.

"The movie that's being made is exploiting the deaths of our children and there would be no movie without the deaths of our sons," said Hains. Her son, Daniel, was among the eight killed in the crash — seven members of the Bathurst Phantoms basketball team and the wife of their coach, a teacher at their school.

"The provincial government is giving a tax credit (to the producers) to make this movie and they could use that money on student safety, which I've been advocating since the death of my son."

Along with the other parents, Hains has been pressing for changes to require specialized drivers to transport students in multi-function activity vehicles — also known as minibuses.

The provincial government said Tuesday that the tax credit was included in the 2010 budget and was given to encourage the use of local actors, crew and other resources. The decision on funding was not based on the movie's content.

The government said the decision to proceed with production and claim the credit remains the responsibility of the producers.

Hains was among the parents who also issued a formal complaint with the provincial ombudsman to investigate the use of Bathurst High School as a filming location for parts of the movie.

The ombudsman's office has agreed to look into the complaint, but acting New Brunswick ombudsman Francois Levert was not available for comment on Tuesday.

In an email, Rick LeGuerrier of Dream Street Pictures said: "We absolutely respect the right of any New Brunswick citizen to speak to the Ombudsman or the Auditor General."

He stressed that the film focuses not only on the crash, but on the provincial basketball victory the Bathurst team achieved the following year.

Calls to the school district were not returned.

The crash happened when the 15-passenger van swerved out its lane and collided with a transport truck near Bathurst. The team was returning from a tournament in poor weather at the time.

Using the 2006 movie We Are Marshall as contrast, Hains noted it took more than three decades for that tragedy to be the focus of a movie. The 1970 plane crash killed 70 people associated with the Marshall University football team, including 37 players and eight members of the coaching staff.

"Everyone who is making this movie is going to be profiting from the deaths of our children, and that's not right," Hains said. "It's too soon. For We Are Marshall, it took them (more than) 30 years to make that movie when that plane crashed. Here, we're only 3 1/2 years from the death of our children, and our lives are still trying to heal the best way we can. . . . Our children are not props and neither are we."

Production for the CBC movie, titled The Phantoms, is scheduled to begin this fall.

bbouzane@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/bouzane
© Copyright (c) Postmedia News

Montreal Gazette: Parents of N.B. crash victims want review of film funding

By Bradley Bouzane, Postmedia News

The mother of one of seven New Brunswick high school basketball players who lost their lives in a van crash three years ago says it's too soon for the tragedy to be the subject of a film — and there should be a review of a provincial tax credit given to the film's producers.

Click here to read original article in Montreal Gazette


Isabelle Hains and two other women — Ana Acevedo and Marcella Kelly, who also lost their sons in the Jan. 12, 2008 crash — wrote this week to the provincial and federal auditors general asking them to review the circumstances of a $250,000 grant to a New Brunswick production company that is filming a TV movie about the tragedy.

"The movie that's being made is exploiting the deaths of our children and there would be no movie without the deaths of our sons," said Hains. Her son, Daniel, was among the eight killed in the crash — seven members of the Bathurst Phantoms basketball team and the wife of their coach, a teacher at their school.

"The provincial government is giving a tax credit (to the producers) to make this movie and they could use that money on student safety, which I've been advocating since the death of my son."

Along with the other parents, Hains has been pressing for changes to require specialized drivers to transport students in multi-function activity vehicles — also known as minibuses.

The provincial government said Tuesday that the tax credit was included in the 2010 budget and was given to encourage the use of local actors, crew and other resources. The decision on funding was not based on the movie's content.

The government said the decision to proceed with production and claim the credit remains the responsibility of the producers.

Hains was among the parents who also issued a formal complaint with the provincial ombudsman to investigate the use of Bathurst High School as a filming location for parts of the movie.

The ombudsman's office has agreed to look into the complaint, but acting New Brunswick ombudsman Francois Levert was not available for comment on Tuesday.

In an email, Rick LeGuerrier of Dream Street Pictures said: "We absolutely respect the right of any New Brunswick citizen to speak to the Ombudsman or the Auditor General."

He stressed that the film focuses not only on the crash, but on the provincial basketball victory the Bathurst team achieved the following year.

Calls to the school district were not returned.

The crash happened when the 15-passenger van swerved out its lane and collided with a transport truck near Bathurst. The team was returning from a tournament in poor weather at the time.

Using the 2006 movie We Are Marshall as contrast, Hains noted it took more than three decades for that tragedy to be the focus of a movie. The 1970 plane crash killed 70 people associated with the Marshall University football team, including 37 players and eight members of the coaching staff.

"Everyone who is making this movie is going to be profiting from the deaths of our children, and that's not right," Hains said. "It's too soon. For We Are Marshall, it took them (more than) 30 years to make that movie when that plane crashed. Here, we're only 3 1/2 years from the death of our children, and our lives are still trying to heal the best way we can. . . . Our children are not props and neither are we."

Production for the CBC movie, titled The Phantoms, is scheduled to begin this fall.

bbouzane@postmedia.com

Read more: http://www.canada.com/news/Parents+crash+victims+want+review+film+funding/5329770/story.html#ixzz1WbYtF3pB

Auditor General of Canada: Request to Investigate CBC Funding of Dream Street Pictures Film "The Phantoms"

August 30, 2011

John Wiersema, Interim Auditor General
Office of the Auditor General of Canada
240 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G6 Canada

Via email: communications@oag-bvg.gc.ca

Original sent under separate cover

Dear Mr. Wiersema:

Re: CBC Funding of Dream Street Pictures "The Phantoms"
We are Isabelle Hains, Ana Acevedo, and Marcella Kelly, the mothers of Daniel Hains, Javier Acevedo and Nikki Kelly who were killed along with four of their teammates from the Bathurst High School Phantoms basketball team on January 12, 2008. We are writing with the support of our partners and families to request the Auditor General of Canada undertake an investigation of CBC's funding of the Dream Street Pictures' made for television movie "The Phantoms".

We believe that "The Phantoms" is neither an efficient or economical use of CBC's assets; rather, we believe it a wasteful use of taxpayers dollars because:

1) there is a risk that this film may never see the light of day if we are successful in stopping the production and preventing it from being aired on television;

2) the film is based on false premises which will make it an artistic bomb and economic failure and;

3) the persons most affected by the film - the victims' parents and families - were never consulted by anyone connected with the production which is a violation of the Crown corporation and the Department of Heritage's code of ethics.

We believe that CBC Executives Tom Hastings, Head of Drama, and Scott McEwan, Executive in Charge of Development, made a decision to support the development of this film without any consideration whatsoever to the inevitable outcry from the victims' parents and families which they knew would follow the public announcement on July 22, 2011 that a movie about the Boys in Red tragedy would be filmed on location at Bathurst High School.

We believe that Mr. Hastings and Mr. McEwan took the cynical view that any complaint from victims' parents and their families would be good pre-publicity for the film as it would attract media attention and add to the pre-launch "hype". Their insensitivity and lack of respect for the torment this film has brought to us - the victims' parents and their families - is inexcusable and, in our opinion, just cause for dismissal.

We are therefore asking you to investigate the circumstances which led to CBC's support of "The Phantoms" over the last two and a half years from first contact with Dream Street Pictures and story development through to full fledged production.

If you have any questions about this request, please feel free to contact us at 506-546-6370 or by email at info@vanangels.ca

Yours sincerely,





Isabelle Hains, Ana Acevedo, Marcella Kelly
www.VanAngels.ca
email: info@VanAngels.ca


cc.
Hon. James Moore, Minister of Heritage, james.moore@parl.gc.ca
Yvon Godin, MP (Acadie Bathurst), yvon.godin.a1@parl.gc.ca
NB Premier David Alward, david.alward@gnb.ca
Hon. Trevor Holder, NB Minister of Wellness, Culture and Sport, trevor.holder@gnb.ca
Hon. Jody Carr, NB Minister of Education, jody.carr@gnb.ca
Hon. Claude Williams, NB Minister of Supply and Services, claude.williams@gnb.ca
Hubert LaCroix, President and CEO, CBC, ht.lacroix@cbc.ca
Kirk Lapointe, CBC Ombudsman, ombudsman@cbc.ca
Tom Hastings, Head of Drama, CBC Television, tom.hastings@cbc.ca
Scott McEwan, Executive in Charge of Development, Drama in English Television Arts & Entertainment, CBC Television, scott.mcewan@cbc.ca
Phyllis Platt, Executive Director of Scripted and Commissioned Programming, phyllis.platt@cbc.ca
Kevin Lacey, Atlantic Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation, klacey@taxpayer.com

Global TV: Mothers of van crash victims seek review of tax credit for movie about tragedy

Click here to read original article on Global TV

BATHURST, N.B. - Three New Brunswick mothers have asked the province's auditor general to investigate the granting of a $250,000 film tax credit to the makers of a proposed movie on the Bathurst High van crash.

Isabelle Hains, Ana Acevedo and Marcella Kelly made the request Monday in an email to auditor general Kim MacPherson.

Dream Street Pictures of Fredericton and CBC Television are planning a movie on the true story of how the Bathurst Phantoms were able to win a provincial basketball title a year after the crash that killed seven players.

The mothers, whose sons died in the January 2008 accident, said in the email that they believe the tax credit was given without consideration to the sensitivities of the parents.

The seven players and one adult died when their school van collided with a transport truck during a snowstorm.

Since then, the mothers have pressed for provincial and national changes in the rules governing student travel, including the kinds of vehicles and tires used on vans.

They have also pushed for changes that would require that only qualified bus drivers can transport students, instead of coaches or volunteers.

Hains and Acevedo recently filed a complaint with the provincial ombudsman in an effort to reverse a decision by school officials to allow filming of parts of the movie at the high school.

Acting ombudsman Francois Levert has agreed to look into the complaint and determine whether his office has jurisdiction to make any recommendations. That could take several months.

Read it on Global News: Global BC | Mothers of van crash victims seek review of tax credit for movie about tragedy

Globe and Mail:Mothers of Bathurst, N.B. bus crash victims want probe into movie tax credit

Click here to read original article in the Globe and Mail

BATHURST, N.B.— The Canadian Press

Three New Brunswick mothers whose sons were killed in a crash near Bathurst in January 2008 have written the province's auditor general.

They want Kim MacPherson to investigate the granting of a 250-thousand-dollar film tax credit.

The tax credit was given to the makers of a proposed movie stemming from the crash that killed seven high school basketball players.

The storyline for the Dream Street Pictures and CBC production picks up a year after the tragedy when the Bathurst Phantoms were able to win a provincial basketball title.

But mothers Isabelle Hains, Ana Acevedo and Marcella Kelly say it's too soon to make a film.

Ms. Hains and Ms. Acevedo recently filed a complaint with the provincial ombudsman.

They're hoping to reverse a decision by school officials to allow filming of parts of the movie at the high school.

Acting ombudsman Francois Levert has agreed to look into the complaint and determine whether his office has jurisdiction to make any recommendations.

That could take several months.