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KINGSTON, ONT. – The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) is pleased to announce that the Crown has marked for withdrawal the ticket of an Ontario woman whose privacy was violated by use of a drone that spied on her while she was stopped at an intersection.

On May 7, 2025, the woman, whose name is being withheld out of privacy concerns, was stopped at a red light in Kingston, Ont., when she noticed a large drone hovering outside her car window. The woman thought the drone operator might be committing a crime or invading her privacy, so she pulled out her phone and took a photo. 

Minutes later, police pulled her over and issued a $500 ticket under section 78.1(a) of the Highway Traffic Act for using her phone while driving. She faced nearly $900 in fines and fees as a result, three demerit points, and a three-day license suspension if found guilty at trial.

Police revealed that they used a drone to zoom in on drivers inside their vehicles, capturing close-up footage of hands, arms, and phone screens, as part of a distracted driving enforcement blitz. Images from the operation were later shared publicly on social media. 

Josh Dehaas, Counsel for the CCF, said that police using drones to zoom in on and record unsuspecting drivers in their cars constitutes an unreasonable search and violates the reasonable expectation of privacy protected by section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“Using a high-powered drone purchased to assist with purposes like accident reconstruction and finding missing persons to record unsuspecting people inside their cars including what’s on their phone screens is unacceptable,” said Dehaas.  

“The enforcement of distracted driving laws is important but it cannot be used as an excuse to normalize drone surveillance,” Dehaas added.

Christine Van Geyn, Litigation Director for the CCF, said Canadians should not have to fear being secretly filmed by police while sitting in their own vehicles.

“The Charter protects us from precisely this kind of unchecked surveillance,” said Van Geyn. “Citizens must be able to go about their daily lives without being literally watched from above by their government.”

The resident whose ticket has been marked for withdrawal thanked the CCF for its work on the case.