Four!

Actually, it doesn't take three ministers to be disappointed in Marine Atlantic.

It takes four. Either that, or O.D.P. couldn't stand the thought that one (or three!) of his ministers might grab a headline that he could grab, so he rushed to the mic and sputtered:

We take two steps forward, and then the federal government government claws us back two, three steps, whatever it feels like. You know, as an island, it’s very, very important that we have cheap and very competitive rates. We’re spending a lot of money marketing our province from a tourism perspective. People love to come here. But, you know, with the cost of fuel, and with the cost of the ferry, if that’s prohibitive, then they simply won’t come.

Interesting. First, for the absolute venom with which the word "federal" passed his lips, kinda like a vampire being forced to say the Paternoster while swallowing garlic-coated silver bullets. But hey, if you're gonna fed-bash, you might as well fed-bash in style, right?

Then, for the speculation about the impact of ferry rates on "them", the "they" who "simply won't come." Last winter, Marine Atlantic hiked its rates too. (And it only took two ministers to express the outrage of Williams Government, neither of them named Williams.)

The impact on Marine Atlantic traffic? According to the provincial government's — apologies, Williams Government's own stats:

• Overall, Marine Atlantic passenger movements were up +3% to end of October 2007 compared to the same period in 2006. Passenger-related vehicles were up +5% during the same period.

• Marine Atlantic non-resident traffic was up +4.8% for period ending October 2007 compared to the same period in 2006. The number of residents exiting was down -3% over the same period.

And finally, of course, who's "an island."

Who's "we"?