Prime Minister Paul Martin won't comment on the legal action by his predecessor to remove Justice John Gomery as head of the sponsorship scandal commission.

"One thing is very clear, we created the commission," Martin said Wednesday from the Liberal caucus meeting in Fredericton. "We created it because we want to get to the bottom of this, and that hasn't changed."

Meanwhile, Public Works Minister Scott Brison said the Liberals would like to see the investigation continue.

In Victoria, Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper said when Parliament opens on Monday, "the opposition parties will be demanding that the prime minister commit to a vigorous defence of Justice Gomery's leadership."

However, CTV's Roger Smith told Newsnet that Martin "is really walking a tightrope" because he will be a witness at the inquiry.

"He's made it clear, reading between the lines, that he doesn't want any challenge of any kind to derail this commission," Smith said, speaking from Fredericton.

The various statements come after lawyers for former prime minister Jean Chretien requested the removal of Gomery from his role in the federal sponsorship inquiry.

Brison told reporters in Fredericton that the Liberal government would like for the commission to report back to the public. "It's clearly our desire to see the Gomery commission work to reach its conclusions and to report back," he said.

"From time to time, there will be differences between lawyers in a judicial inquiry. This is natural, and we must wait for the procedure of the inquiry itself to finish," Brison said Wednesday in Fredericton.

"We are hopeful that in fact this can be resolved within the auspices of the Gomery commission, and that the work can continue, because Canadians want to get to the bottom of this," Brison said.

Chretien's lawyers have made a 25-page submission to the inquiry, seeking Gomery's recusal.

They complained that comments the judge has made prejudged the inquiry's findings before all the facts are in, and that he has failed to reassure them of his impartiality.

CTV News has obtained a copy of the submission. Among a number of claims listed in the submission's Overview, which cites pre-Christmas interviews in newspaper articles and television reports, are accusations that the Commissioner:

• Made "highly inappropriate public statements which raised serious questions as to the fairness and objectivity of the process now underway";
• Expressed conclusions about the inquiry "before all the evidence was heard";
• Said he already concluded that some of the witnesses had lied; and
• Described the proceedings as an "entertainment spectacle" to which he had "the best seat in the house", adding that the "juicy stuff" was yet to come.

The submission details a Dec. 16 Ottawa Citizen article attributing statements to Gomery, who said the sponsorship program was run in a "catastrophically bad way" by Chuck Guite, who he referred to as a "charming scamp."

In another interview with The Globe and Mail, Gomery used the term "small-town cheap" to characterize Chretien's use of promotional golf balls, embossed with his signature, as part of the sponsorship program.

Even though Gomery has since apologized and vowed to "keep an open mind until the last witness has been heard," Chretien lawyer David Scott said it appeared as though the veteran Quebec Superior Court justice had reached a conclusion prematurely.

"I am very sorry if the remarks that I made in the course of these interviews have caused anxiety or concern on the part of any person," said Gomery.

"I want to reassure them that I have not reached any conclusions."

But his apology weakened when he defended his decision to give the interviews in the first place.

One of Chretien's lawyers says a notice of motion was issued to Gomery Tuesday, requesting that he remove himself from the sponsorship proceedings.

The notice, which CTV News has also obtained, states that Chretien will make the motion to the Commissioner on Monday, Jan. 31, or on an earlier date to be fixed by the Commission. Scott will be making arguments for the motion.

Gomery has not commented on the recusal request, but if he refuses, lawyers could take the case to federal court.

The public inquiry was launched after Auditor General Sheila Fraser reported problems with the now-defunct federal sponsorship program.

In her report, released in Feb. 2004, Fraser said that more than $100 million in taxpayers' money had been spent through the program -- with little or no work to show for it.

With a report from the Canadian Press