Canada Urges Netflix to Compensate Town Depicted in Tragic Accident Footage in ‘Bird Box’

The Canadian Parliament is urging Netflix to compensate the townspeople of Lac-Mégantic after the streaming giant used footage of a deadly 2013 train derailment in two of its originals – Bird Box and Travelers.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Canada’s Parliament passed a non-binding motion on Wednesday demanding that the streaming service remove “all images of the Lac-Megantic tragedy” from the Sandra Bullock-starring film. They also urged Netflix to compensate the people of Lac-Megantic, Quebec.

“We know people are going to go and watch this film, and again these real images will be used,” Canadian legislator Pierre Nantel said. “For people in Lac-Megantic, they saw images of their own downtown burning, and could imagine their own family members in it.”

The rail disaster, which occurred when a train carrying crude oil derailed in July of 2013, killing 47 people, was picked up as stock footage by the company Pond5 and used in brief segments in both Bird Box and Season 3 of sci-fi series, Travelers.

The footage was first noticed by Guillaume Bouchard while he was watching Travelers, and Lac-Megantic Mayor Julie Morin later noticed the footage being used in Bird Box, leading to backlash and a call for Netflix to remove the clips from its original series.

While Carrie Mudd, president of Travelers‘ production company Peacock Alley Entertainment, assured Morin and the residents of Lac-Mégantic that the footage would be removed, and Tina Witoshkin, a spokesperson for Pond5, apologized for the footage, Netflix later released a statement claiming that it would keep the clip in Bird Box.

“We find that it’s really a lack of respect,” Morin said in response to the inclusion of the footage and Netflix’s decision not to remove it. “It’s hard enough for our citizens to see these images when they are used normally and respectfully on the news. Just imagine to have them used as fiction, as if they were invented.”

Following more backlash, Netflix eventually released a letter of apology, though the streaming giant once again reiterated its decision to keep the footage in Bird Box.

“Netflix was not aware of the source of the footage and understands that many feel frustration and sadness at seeing images of the tragic event. We regret any pain caused to the Lac-Mégantic community,” the letter began. “The use of stock footage is a widespread and long-standing practice in the film and television industry. As a result, stock images are commonly used within content on Netflix and on other services.”

The letter added that the “widespread use prevents” the streaming service from removing the footage from Bird Box.