What do the initials G.I. stand for? Generally, it's for "Government Issue." Yet, with Jane Stewart's latest Ontario government appointment, the label of G.I. Jane is very appropriate. Those initials might better stand for "Grossly Inflated" or "Gigantic Income," as the serial appointee continues to rake in huge taxpayer-funded paycheques.

Stewart has a terrible government track record and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has flip-flopped on his approach to patronage by continually appointing her.

McGuinty handed G.I. Jane, a former Liberal MP and cabinet minister, yet another juicy government appointment, a $700-a-day job on a panel tasked with charting out the future of horse racing and breeding in Ontario.

In opposition on April 24, 1991, McGuinty argued the appointments process should be moved out of the premier's office citing its lack of objectivity. He urged the legislature to follow recommendations of the Macaulay Report which proposed greater pre-appointment transparency and the creation of an administrative council to ensure qualified candidates both were sought and appointed.

McGuinty's hiring of G.I. Jane violates these principles and again foists a Liberal crony on taxpayers.

G.I. Jane was first appointed by McGuinty to be chief negotiator for Ontario regarding the Six Nations land claim dispute. For more than 12 months Stewart worked the file, billing taxpayers $1,300 a day in fees. And where does the file stand today? Open, with no end in sight. Stewart was removed from the file and can take no credit for any progress.

SCATHING REPORT

But it is Stewart's record as federal minister for human resources that should worry Ontario taxpayers and members of the Ontario horse industry. During her watch the federal auditor general (AG) issued a scathing report outlining waste and mismanagement of a billion-dollar federal job creation program. The audit was a condemnation of bureaucratic carelessness and disregard for care of public money. The AG reviewed 459 projects and found 87% had virtually no monitoring, oversight or paperwork of any kind. No less than 12 criminal investigations by the RCMP resulted from this program under her watch.

Further, the same fund showed that G.I. Jane steered more than $10 million a year -- 67 pages worth of grants in three years -- into her riding alone. This practice raised many questions of political interference with government funds. Her track record both in and out of government should have kept McGuinty from placing any bets on her, let alone expensive ones.

So, what do G.I. Jane Stewart and G.I. Jane Demi Moore, of Hollywood fame, have in common? They both make a ton of cash. At least with Moore, people have a choice whether or not to pay her by choosing to go, or not to go, see one of her movies.

When it comes to Stewart, however, taxpayers in Ontario are on the hook for her questionable services and very large salary regardless of choice, thanks to Premier McGuinty's patronage.

-- Gaudet is Ontario director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation