MP Gerald Keddy presents a ceremonial cheque that includes the Conservative Party logo and Keddy's signature. (Chesterns.ca)

Canada's ethics commissioner will investigate dozens of allegations that Conservative MPs are using taxpayers' money for partisan purposes.

But Mary Dawson says she's not sure how far her mandate allows her to go into ethical issues, despite her job title.

Dawson is looking into how to deal with the dozens of complaints about Tory MPs putting their own names and party logo on economic stimulus cheques.

"We're still receiving the 50-odd complaints," Dawson said Tuesday.

Opposition MPs claim Conservative MPs are breaking the rules by passing off taxpayers' money as their own or that of the Conservative party in government funding announcements.

But in her annual report, Dawson highlighted that while the word "ethics" appears in her job title, it does not appear in the Conflict of Interest Act or the Code of Conduct for MPs.

"It's quite unclear as to the extent to which my mandate extends into ethical issues that are not expressly referred to in either the code or the act and, in fact, one would wonder whether it extends there at all," Dawson said at parliamentary ethics committee meeting.

Will issue public report

Dawson said she has no deadline for her investigation but will make her findings public.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff slammed Prime Minister Stephen Harper over the cheque issue on the floor of the House of Commons on Tuesday.

"The money the government is splashing around does not belong to the Conservative Party of Canada. It belongs to Canadian taxpayers. Party logos have no place on government cheques," Ignatieff said.

Harper agreed that the use of a partisan logo on a government announcement "is not correct. We endeavour not to do that."

But Harper said it's normal for MPs championing projects to want to take credit for those projects.

"We insist they follow the rules," he said.