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The Globe and Mail · Toronto Sun · Edmonton Journal · National Post

Robyn Urback

Publishing · On our record since 2013

Where this writer stands

Public safety16 pieces

Prevention and restraintEnforcement and sentencing
“We need encampments beside daycares removed immediately. We must have no tolerance for open drug use in playgrounds.” Read the piece

Fiscal policy10 pieces

Higher taxes and public spendingLower taxes and tighter spending
“Tightening OAS eligibility is of course a terrible political move for a Prime Minister who owes his win to Boomers who trusted him to preserve their status quo, but it is a necessary move for a Prime Minister – or anyone, frankly – who can recognize that it is patently insane to keep handing out billions of dollars to wealthy seniors in this economic environment.” Read the piece

Immigration6 pieces

Higher permanent intakeLower intake
“Most of our peer nations figured out a long time ago that automatically granting citizenship to anyone born on their soil was problematic.” Read the piece

Health4 pieces

Expand public coverageMore private delivery
“it is fair for the government to make the case that it no longer constitutes a reasonable use of taxpayer dollars to pay for extended health coverage for more than 600,000 people who may or may not have their asylum claims approved.” Read the piece

Foreign affairs3 pieces

Alliance restraintAssertive alliances and sanctions
“Mr. Trump was the essential element that got the first phase of this peace deal done.” Read the piece

Trade2 pieces

Diversify away from one partnerDeeper continental integration
“Canada's historical overreliance on the U.S. for trade has left us economically vulnerable for too long, and that we must secure new agreements with admittedly unreliable partners because the U.S. is currently acting as the most unreliable trading partner.” Read the piece

Housing2 pieces

Public supply and demand controlsMarket supply and deregulation
“But allowing an actual correction – that is, getting out of the way, and waiting for prices to bottom-out, even if that means some projects end up in receivership – would more broadly push prices down, levelling the market for everyone.” Read the piece

Defence2 pieces

Restrain spending and deploymentsHigher spending and more capability
“This is the inferno that Mr. Trump has created, from which he now wishes to walk away.” Read the piece

Climate2 pieces

Faster fossil phase-downSlower phase-down, production first
“we are slashing immigration, abandoning climate change measures, shrinking the public service, rewriting bail and sentencing policy, scrapping planned changes to capital gains taxation, spending big on national defence and so on.” Read the piece

Labour1 piece

Stronger unions and standardsMore flexibility for employers
“including lowering capital requirements for federally regulated banks, and repealing Bill C-58, which prohibits the hiring of replacement workers during strikes in federally regulated workplaces.” Read the piece

Financial regulation1 piece

Tighter prudential rulesLighter capital rules and more competition
“A true Canada Strong economic update would usher in immediate reform to our competition rules, loosening foreign restrictions on telecoms companies” Read the piece

Energy1 piece

Restrict new oil and gasExpand production and export
“It would take a hatchet to the patchwork of regulations stifling growth and investment in Canada, including Bill C-69, the Impact Assessment Act, for which Mr. Carney has already created a route for bypass with the Building Canada Act.” 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