The federal NDP is blocking Canadians' chance to render judgment on the sponsorship scandal, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper says.

Responding to Justice John Gomery's long-awaited report Tuesday, Harper said the facts of the scandal have now been laid bare.

"Thanks to Judge Gomery we now know these are the facts, they aren't partisan attacks. They aren't speculation, they aren't smear, they are not exaggeration, they are what happened. The facts are as plain as day."

In that light, Harper said the Liberals should lose their right to govern. But he's not prepared to press for a fall election without the support of both the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois.

"Mr. Layton is going to have to decide whether he thinks this is an issue worthy of bringing the government down," Harper said.

"And I can say to this point neither Mr. Duceppe nor myself to my knowledge have any contacts from Mr. Layton to that effect."

In his response Tuesday morning, Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe made it clear he favours an immediate election -- and is openly pressing Martin to give opposition parties a chance to vote on a motion of confidence this week.

But in his first reaction to the Gomery report, Layton told reporters he's been both saddened and angered by its revelations, but unsure whether it merits a rush to the polls.

Canadians "deserve better from the Liberal Party than what Justice Gomery found," Layton said, calling the report a "wake-up call" to corruption in government.

But when pressed to divulge his view of election timing, Layton said he needs more time to weigh the report and reaction to it.

In the meantime, he said, the Grits must address the "broader culture" of patronage and rewarding well-connected friends that permeates their party.

"It's a culture that needs to be cleaned up," Layton said.

Parliamentary bluster

During the House of Commons daily question period, Opposition MPs demanded to know whether or not the Gomery's conclusions had beset the Liberals with "a sense of shame."

Led by Martin, however, the Grits held up the report as vindication of their handling of the file.

"Now that Justice Gomery has established the facts, the Leader of the Opposition refuses to accept what Gomery has said. But the fact is, we accept it," the prime minister said to rousing applause from the Government benches.

But Harper refused to let the subject go.

"You would think there would be some element of shame from the Liberal Party over today's report, but there's none whatsoever," the Conservative leader charged.

"Over a year ago I apologized, over year ago I said that I wished I had been more vigilant," Martin retorted, adding that he is already looking forward to the release of Gomery's second and final report next year.

Martin exonerated

Earlier in the day, Public Works Minister Scott Brison told reporters that the previous administration's scandal should not tarnish the present government.

"Let's be clear, the kinds of activities that Justice Gomery was investigating were wrong and totally unacceptable," the Nova Scotia MP said, adding that "they went on far too long."

But, Brison insisted, Martin has not only been cleared of wrongdoing, but is also working to fix whatever's broken.

"It was this prime minister, Paul Martin, who ended the sponsorship program. And it is only one leader, Prime Minister Paul Martin, who has had the guts to say 'Enough is enough, we're going to end this'."

"We're going to clean it up and we're going to strengthen governance to ensure this never happens again."

Brison's confidence was grounded in Gomery's own conclusion -- that Martin was not to blame for the sponsorship program spinning into a fiasco that wound up costing taxpayers more than $300 million over 10 years.

"Mr. Martin, whose role as finance minister did not involve him in the supervision of spending by the PMO or Public Works, is entitled to be exonerated from any blame for carelessness or misconduct," Gomery wrote.

Anticipating the prime minister's exoneration early Tuesday morning, Deputy Conservative Leader Peter MacKay refused to believe Martin knew nothing.

"Willful blindness is a pitiful excuse for leadership," MacKay told CTV's Mike Duffy. "You can try to blame it all on Jean Chretien, but he was in the best position to try to stop what he knew was wrong."

Martin's minority Liberals have vowed to a pledge to call an election within 30 days of Gomery releasing his final report. That document, expected to focus on recommendations for avoiding a similar situation from developing in the future, is expected in February.