Angel >> Moving towards affordable housing Under pressure to cut a deal before their Nov. 30 meeting in Quebec City, housing ministers across the country are about to sign an agreement providing affordable housing to low-income families. The deal is said to be worth $1.4-billion, shared between the feds and the provinces. Critics still charge that the deal, which they estimate would provide only 6,000 of the 25,000 to 35,000 units a year needed to deal with the problem, doesn't go far enough. Still, a step in the right direction is better than no step at all.

Insect >> Privately run prisons On Sunday, prisoners rioted at Canada's first private superjail in Penetanguishene, Ontario--just over a week after opening for business. Although there were no injuries and no major damage, the privatization of prisons is still a bad idea: the Ontario prison-guard union expressed its fears about the safety of both staff and inmates if the prison's American operators decide to cut back on costs. The maximum-security jail, which is about 150 km north of Toronto, holds only 67 prisoners right now, but will be called home by a total 1,184 inmates by December.