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TORONTO – The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) is urging Kingston Police to immediately halt its use of a drone to monitor and record drivers inside their vehicles.

In a letter addressed to Chief of Police Scott Fraser, CCF Counsel Josh Dehaas asserts the use of drones recording drivers through their car windows is a violation of section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects against unreasonable searches. Precedent from the Supreme Court of Canada confirms that individuals do not surrender their reasonable expectation of privacy merely by being in public.

“This is a serious infringement of Canadians’ constitutional rights,” Dehaas said. “It’s also a concerning step toward the type of surveillance state that George Orwell warned about in Nineteen Eighty-Four.”

The CCF requests that Kingston Police immediately end this aerial surveillance program. Should these activities continue, the CCF will be pursuing legal action.

The letter is available in full here.