Angel >> Svelte Quebecers Montreal's much-ballyhooed concern with looks, style and cigarettes was rewarded this week with a StatsCan report saying that the city's residents, along with those of Sherbrooke and Vancouver, are among the country's slimmest, despite having one of the least active populations. Credit for small waistlines go to our diet, our sensitive body image and our higher rate of smoking, which is said to act as an appetite suppressant. So shovel down some more poutine and buy another six-pack, because esthetically speaking, we're fine. And don't forget to light up your smokes afterwards.

Insect >> The Fraser Institute The right-wing Vancouver-based thinktank made itself even more creepy this week by claiming poverty levels in Canada were inflated by "deceptive" measurements. According to their new report, the poverty rate in Canada stands at eight, rather than the widely accepted 17, per cent. It also says only one child in 20 is living in poverty, rather than one in 10. The report's author believes, in all seriousness, a family in Quebec should only be deemed poor if it earns less than a $17,436 a year--barely over half what StatsCan considers its low-income cutoff.