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KINGSTON, ONT. – The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) announced Monday that it is assisting an Ontario woman whose privacy was violated by use of a high-powered drone.

On May 7, Mariama, whose last 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. Mariama thought the drone operator might be committing a crime and was 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. In total, she now faces nearly $900 in fines and fees, three demerit points and a three-day license suspension if found guilty.

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

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

“Using a police-owned drone, purchased to assist with accident reconstruction or to find missing persons, to instead record unsuspecting people inside their cars is a clear violation of section 8 of the Charter,” said Dehaas. “The enforcement of distracted driving laws does not mean Canadians cede their privacy rights. There are plenty of ways to enforce distracted driving laws without using high-powered cameras to peer into private spaces.”

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.”

Ryan Handlarski of RH Criminal Defence will represent Mariama in this case on behalf of the CCF.