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Toronto Star

David Olive

Publishing · On our record since 2007

Where this writer stands

Trade14 pieces

Diversify away from one partnerDeeper continental integration
“They have consistently held the sensible view that Canada should maintain beneficial ties with the U.S. while diversifying our trading partners.” Read the piece

Energy9 pieces

Restrict new oil and gasExpand production and export
“Both options make the case for accelerating Canada's increase in fuel production and the construction of transportation infrastructure to get more Canadian production to both domestic and world markets.” Read the piece

Fiscal policy7 pieces

Higher taxes and public spendingLower taxes and tighter spending
“With an initial cost estimate of $60 billion to $90 billion, Alto could be an exercise in fiscal overreach for a federal government already committed to multibillion-dollar investments in new energy and transportation infrastructure and military preparedness.” Read the piece

Defence6 pieces

Restrain spending and deploymentsHigher spending and more capability
“Together, they would give Canada one of the world's most versatile air forces and help us build a sovereign military aerospace industry in the bargain.” Read the piece

Climate6 pieces

Faster fossil phase-downSlower phase-down, production first
“It would also be wrong to assume that fossil fuel demand is waning, and that Canada would thus be unwise to build up its production and infrastructure to supply the world.” Read the piece

Housing4 pieces

Public supply and demand controlsMarket supply and deregulation
“Abetting the slowdown are prohibitively high municipal developer fees, long timelines for obtaining project approvals, and continued restrictive zoning many years into a crisis in which bans on new multiple-unit dwellings were identified as a chief impediment to adequate supply of affordable housing.” Read the piece

Health3 pieces

Expand public coverageMore private delivery
“What's most disappointing about the prevailing preoccupation with making Canada an industrial and energy superpower is that this vision of Canada's future ignores necessary investments in social goods — namely, health care, education, affordable housing and public transit.” Read the piece

Immigration3 pieces

Higher permanent intakeLower intake
“Ultimately, current caps on immigration may need to be eased after the temporary resident population approaches the federal government's target of five per cent of the total population.” Read the piece

Federalism3 pieces

Ottawa leadsProvinces lead
“The provinces and territories would help devise it. They, not Ottawa, have sole jurisdiction over power generation and distribution.” Read the piece

Agriculture2 pieces

Defend supply managementLiberalize supply management
“Serious reforms include scrapping a Canadian supply management system in agriculture that inflates prices of dairy, eggs and poultry.” Read the piece

Foreign affairs2 pieces

Alliance restraintAssertive alliances and sanctions
“Our European allies are increasingly able to defend themselves.” Read the piece

Public safety1 piece

Prevention and restraintEnforcement and sentencing
“If we are serious about eradicating social-media harms, there are two substantial measures we can adopt. We can educate kids on safe social media use, incorporating safe-use instruction into mandatory school curricula.” Read the piece

Financial regulation1 piece

Tighter prudential rulesLighter capital rules and more competition
“Issuers must maintain real-world reserves in a segregated account, or trust, with a qualified financial institution separate from the issuer. That would guard against losses of customers' stablecoin holdings in the event of an issuers' insolvency.” Read the piece

Only opinion columns and editorials are scored. Each piece is read twice by a language model, which records the author's own stance on a policy topic only where the piece argues one, with a quote that must appear in the piece. An author's position on a topic is the average of their pieces, weighted by the model's confidence. News reporting is listed but never scored.

Recent work