The federal opposition hammered the Conservatives over a series of taxpayer-funded cheques presented to the public as if they came from the Tories, including at least one project that was actually approved by the previous government.
The issue was first raised when a picture surfaced of Nova Scotia MP Gerry Keddy presenting an oversized Government of Canada stimulus cheque that was stamped with the Conservative party logo. Such a display breaches government rules under the Federal Identity Program.
Keddy's office said it was an oversight, but another photo involving the parliamentary secretary with another Tory-stamped cheque was identified.
In Charlottetown, the current government looks to be taking credit for the city's latest federal building with a sign touting their economic action plan. Trouble is, the building has been open for three years and was announced by the Liberal federal government six years ago.
P.E.I. Liberal MP Wayne Easter lashed out saying: "Somebody is driving by and they must look and say, 'My goodness, Stephen (Harper) must have put that building up and created those jobs."
"I mean, it's outright misinformation."
Dimitri Soudas, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office, defended the use of the individual politicians' names on Wednesday, saying members of Parliament deserve credit for local projects supported by the federal government.
"These are cheques that obviously convey to Canadians that work is being done by the Conservative government implementing the economic action plan," Soudas said on Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel's Power Play.
However, he called the use of the Conservative logo on government announcements "inappropriate."
Dozens of cheque presentations can be viewed on the websites of individual Conservative MPs, including several cabinet minister, all with the MP's name and signature written in bold letters, while the Government of Canada logo remains nearly invisible.
Nova Scotia NDP MP Peter Stoffer has referred the use of the cheques to the Ethics Commission.
"There are three things we want to government to do. One, stop it immediately, two, apologize and three, who in the cabinet authorized this blatant use of political partisanship," Stoffer told Power Play.
Easter says the stimulus money comes from the public purse and not the budgets of individual MPs.
As he put it, the public treasury is not designed to fund "the Conservative propaganda machine."
The Liberal Party of Canada press office issued a release Wednesday alleging that the Conservatives are "treating your money like it's their own."
