Kingston Police have begun using a drone to capture people using electronic devices while operating motor vehicles, something that the Canadian Constitution Foundation says violates Section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
As most readers are aware, I’m a strong advocate of civil liberties and free expression. That is to say, I ultimately lean against permitting police to use drones in day-to-day law enforcement, even in this instance, when I support cracking down on dangerous driving.
Kingston Police state they used a drone to “record video while looking for cell phone use by drivers” at three major intersections. Twenty distracted driving tickets were issued on May 7.
The CCF, citing the Supreme Court’s decision in R v Jarvis, 2019 SCC 10, to support its argument, wrote to Kingston Chief of Police Scott Fraser this morning [May 14] requesting KPS stop the practice of using unmanned drones for traffic enforcement, and cease recording video without a warrant.
CCF Counsel Josh Dehaas wrote:
This practice is contrary to section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects the right of everyone to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Canadians have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the activities they are undertaking inside their automobiles, including that which is displayed on their device screens, which may include deeply personal information such as photos, text messages, and map directions. They do not expect to be surreptitiously filmed at close range by a drone hovering outside their window.
The CCF closed the letter by writing, “if Kingston Police does not cease this unconstitutional use of drones, the Canadian Constitution Foundation intends to litigate.”
For what my opinion is worth, I expect Kingston Police will cease using drones for traffic enforcement. In my interactions with KPS over the years [going back to my work with Macleans covering higher education in 2007], this service strives to be professional and public-serving.
The effort to prevent road deaths by enforcing distracted driving laws is commendable. However, a free society cannot permit police to use drones to peer into car windows.
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v. 1.0.0
Published: May 14, 2025
Last updated: May 14, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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v. 1.0.0 original version