The Spectator has learned that a group describing themselves as prominent Burlington business people have hired a lawyer to look into whether Mayor Cam Jackson used taxpayers' money as an MPP to boost his campaign for mayor.

Calling themselves Active Burlington Citizens, the group retained lawyer Sandra Stephenson of the prestigious Hamilton-based firm of Lazier Hickey to make inquiries on their behalf with the legislative assembly of Ontario.

Stephenson says she is not at liberty to say who her clients are.

"All they've allowed me to say is they are a group of business people with substantial profile and standing in Burlington and they are not willing to be identified."

Stephenson says the group have concerns about Jackson's MPP expenditures in the six-month period before he declared his candidacy for mayor in 2006.

"They want to know whether Mr. Jackson spent taxpayers' money on products and services when he was an MPP that directly contributed to his election campaign for mayor," said Stephenson.

Jackson denies using MPP resources to advance his successful campaign and challenges members of the group to identify themselves.

"It's difficult for me to respond to a phantom group working through a lawyer who won't disclose what's going on," he said.

Jackson, who represented Burlington as a Conservative MPP for 22 years, resigned his seat in the legislature and declared his candidacy for mayor in late September 2006.

But rumours that he was planning to run for mayor began swirling almost immediately after incumbent Rob MacIsaac announced he wasn't seeking re-election in early March 2006.

It's that time period that the citizens' group is investigating.

Reports tabled in the legislature show that for the entire fiscal year of 2005, Jackson spent $34,917 on MPP office operations and $14,768 on communications.

Yet in the six-month period from April 1 to his resignation, he spent $35,629 on office operations. But his communications expenditures jumped to $27,961.

Jackson declined to speculate on the reason for the spending spike.

But he says "peaks and valleys" are common in legislative budgets because they depend on changing circumstances such as how many newsletters and booklets are produced.

This is not the first time concerns about Jackson's spending at Queen's Park have been raised.

In 2002, former premier Ernie Eves forced Jackson to resign as tourism minister for allegedly breaching expense guidelines.

Stephenson says her clients are interested in some specific receipts.

"They said among their specific concerns are questions related to Mr. Jackson's website, both as an MPP and as a candidate for mayor, and they would like to examine his receipts to determine whether their concerns have any foundation.

"They want Mr. Jackson or the Ontario government to release the receipts for public review."

Jackson says his MPP website was "upgraded" within the time frame the mystery group is interested in, but there was no crossover of material to his mayoral campaign website.

"We were very careful about that," he said.

Stephenson, who was contacted by the group early this year, says she was only hired to be a conduit for government information but isn't authorized to disclose the results of her inquiries.

That said, it's highly unlikely they yielded anything concrete. Freedom of information legislation does not cover MPP expenditures.

Bob Spence, spokesperson for the office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, notes FOI rules cover only cabinet ministers, opposition leaders and parliamentary assistants.

"There is a distinction in Ontario law between cabinet ministers and opposition leaders and regular MPPs," Spence said.

In the absence of legislative requirements, the only other recourse may be for Jackson to hand over the information himself.

Jackson says he's "more than pleased" to talk to the group, but he's struck by the irony of the situation.

"It's a phantom group hiding behind a lawyer and asking for transparency -- it's a bit of a contradiction."

Andrew Dreschel's commentary appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

adreschel@thespec.com

905-526-3495