Justice committee  Thank you to all the witnesses for your passion and your advocacy. Professor Coughlan, I am very much looking forward to getting rid of the zombie provisions, including section 159 and others that you have mentioned. Thank you for your very lucid testimony on the subject. Calla, I want to put on the record that this committee will be looking at an HIV over-criminalization study later this fall, as early as December, and no later than early 2019.

Industry committee  I've participated on the the University of Guelph station CFRU, on Open Sources, a local political commentary that's been going for about 15 years now. I'm just about to go on Zombie Jamboree. They've asked me to bring a Canadian playlist with me and discuss Canadian music. There's a lot of volunteer activity. You mentioned in your presentation maintaining paragraph 68.1(1)(b).

Criminal Code  I wish it had done that with other zombie provisions, such as water skiing at night, which remains an offence in the Criminal Code. Maybe the government will look at that one later. Second, it is a good thing that the bill would restore the discretion of judges to impose fewer victim fine surcharges or not to impose victim fine surcharges at all.

Criminal Code  Albert—Edmonton, with whom I serve on the justice committee, who has advocated for the removal of these zombie laws from our Criminal Code and has said that this should be something that crosses all political lines and that he expects will be supported by all sides of this House. What are these specific changes in Bill C-75?

Criminal Code  Not to be outdone, they proceeded to introduce Bill C-39, which would remove unconstitutional sections of the Criminal Code, also known as zombie laws. That included section 159 of the Criminal Code. It was introduced on March 8, 2017, and it was such a priority of the government that more than a year later, Bill C-39 remains stuck at first reading.

International Trade committee  I'm not sure that if something doesn't get done, it means the agreement is over with. I think it means that we get into this whole period of a “zombie NAFTA”, as it's been called, where the negotiations are in limbo until things settle down both in the U.S. and in Mexico. There is a desire, though, to get this agreement before the current U.S.

The Environment  Instead of threatening to use the military against British Columbian coast protectors, the Liberals should just admit that this zombie project is days away from collapse.

Health committee  Again, I think we are all in agreement that all nicotine products should in no way be made appealing to young people. We all should agree that the tobacco industry is like the zombie of the corporate world. They continue to come, no matter what the regulation, to try to make their products appealing. They will exploit every loophole. They will shade every regulation.

Veterans Affairs committee  We are putting people to sleep and killing them from the inside, then we get offended when they switch to medicinal cannabis and suddenly start having meaningful emotions or undergo a course of therapy that works because they are no longer zombies.

Criminal Code  First and most important, in my opinion, it would provide much-needed clarity on the concept of consent when it comes to the criminal law with respect to sexual assault. It would also address certain zombie laws, as I have heard them referred to previously, that have been deemed unconstitutional by our nation's highest court or have become obsolete because of the social context in which we find our country today.

Health committee  We're the health committee, so I think we should be doing everything we can to stamp them out. I think the tobacco industry is like a corporate zombie. It just keeps coming and coming if we don't close every single loophole. That's the experience, I think, Australia has. I'm curious on the plain packaging. Is there strong enough language?

Justice committee  I'm hopeful that they will all proceed as quickly as possible because I share your concern about having zombie provisions remain in the Criminal Code and having individuals charged under provisions that have been rendered unconstitutional.

Criminal Code  That is why, in December of 2016, I joined Bret McCann, the son of Lyle and Marie McCann, at a press conference to call on the government and the Minister of Justice to introduce legislation to repeal unconstitutional sections of the Criminal Code, often referred to as zombie laws. To that end, I am pleased that Bill C-51 would remove sections of the Criminal Code that have been found to be unconstitutional by appellate courts. I am also pleased that the government introduced Bill C-39, which would remove sections of the Criminal Code that have been found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Justice committee  We've heard from a lot of people who say you feel like the rug is just pulled out from underneath you. You're walking out of one very tight vacuum into another, and you're in this zombie-like state, just lost, because you're suddenly back in the world. You're back in the world after having been through this. Tina said it earlier today. It's like a plane crash. You've gone through this thing that you can't explain to somebody else, but you feel as though you have to.

Justice committee  My then pregnant wife, who had such an engaged husband during her first pregnancy, now had an emotional zombie in me, unable or unwilling to communicate. I expected these feelings to subside as I left the courthouse on the day the verdict was delivered. I expected to experience a period of re-acclimatization as I re-entered my life, and then I would be fine.