Liberals file complaints over Tory-logo cheques

The federal Liberals said Thursday they are filing 47 complaints with the ethics commissioner about Conservative Party logos or MPs signatures that have appeared on ceremonial cheques at funding announcements.

Liberals David McGuinty and Marcel Proulx announced the party is lodging the complaints with commissioner Mary Dawson. They said they found 181 examples dating back to 2007 where Conservative MPs have taken credit for taxpayer-funded federal funding announcements though the use of "personalized partisan cheques."

"This is an orgy of spending on Conservative advertising," said McGuinty at an Ottawa news conference.

The logo issue was touched off by an oversized $300,000 cheque handed out last month by Gerald Keddy, Conservative MP for South Shore-St. Margaret's in Nova Scotia. The money, from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, is for an upgrade to a rink in Chester, a community in Keddy's riding.

Keddy said he didn't notice the Conservative Party logo in the corner of the cheque.

After initially saying he would do it again, Keddy later said the use of the logo was inappropriate and something he wouldn't repeat.

CBC News confirmed Wednesday that the ethics commissioner is investigating the logos and signatures appearing on funding announcements.

Asked about suggestions from some Conservatives who say this issue is nothing compared to the Liberal sponsorship scandal, McGuinty said: "That was then, this is now. We dealt with it, had an inquiry and as a Parliament we passed the Accountability Act. We were supposed to have a fresh start in 2006."