By Marissa Nelson
The federal government is paying Barbara McDougall $1,600 a day to be
That is $300 more a day than her provincial counterpart Jane Stewart.
Between May and the end of August, McDougall billed
Ian Sadinsky, who returned calls for McDougall, said the pace of work has picked up significantly in the last six weeks to more than two days a week.
Documents obtained by The Spectator through access to information laws say McDougall is paid $200 an hour, including time spent travelling to the town that's been the site of a standoff since February.
While McDougall is paid more per hour than Stewart, the cap on her expected bill was less than half Stewart's because she wasn't expected to put in as many hours.
McDougall's bill doesn't include expenses, which during the first five months were $5,740.
Sadinsky said most of that cost was for a limousine she uses to get to and from
Sadinsky's bill for communications work he's done for McDougall is also not included. He charges $150 an hour and is averaging 20 to 25 hours a month on the file.
McDougall, a former federal cabinet minister and member of parliament, sits on the boards of several corporations, including the Bank of Nova Scotia.
She used to be a Stelco director. She is currently an adviser at the law firm Aird and Berlis.
The cap on McDougall's pay, listed in a "statement of work," says she will be paid as much as $129,600 for work between May 8 and Aug. 31, based on a regular, 40-hour work week.
The same schedule estimates the 69-year-old will be paid $98,600 for work between September and March 2007, when it is estimated she will only be working two days a week.
Her staff, however, point out that the real bill is much less.
McDougall's estimate in a proposal sent to the federal government for the work is that she will work, "at least two days a week," until the end of September.
The contract between McDougall and
McDougall is instructed in one of the government documents not to give any opinions on historical facts about the Six Nations people without first consulting the Department of Justice and the Six Nations Negotiation Steering Committee.
Six Nations spokesperson Janie Jamieson said that from her experience, McDougall is much less involved than Stewart.
Jamieson said taxpayers aren't getting their money's worth.
"She hasn't contributed a lot of expertise or knowledge," she said.
Jamieson also took issue with some of the goals set out in government documents, including the need to help them organize a government.
"We have a political, governance structure. We had one before any European ever stepped foot on