With the prospect of Prime Minister Paul Martin's expected spring election call looming over their scandal-plagued party, Liberals are showing signs of strain. The latest are several Ontario MPs caught on tape admitting they fear losing their seats.

The Ontario federal Liberal caucus meeting last week was meant to be private, but an audiotape recording has since been obtained by Sun Media.

On the tape, Liberal MPs can be heard expressing fears that their mandate would not be renewed if a spring election were called -- because of questions over who in the Liberal Party may have benefited from the multi-million dollar sponsorship scandal.

"When we lose our own families, when they're questioning us ... it is bad," Beaches-East York MP Maria Minna says on the tape, explaining the queries she's been fielding from her own sister.

"People out there are angry. The anger underneath is palpable."

Other MPs, such as Bramalea-Gore MP Gurbax Singh Malhi, said donations in his riding have dried up since "Scandalgate," while Burlington MP Paddy Torsney said she has had to deal with a steady stream of complaints.

Only one of the 13 MPs who spoke out at the caucus argued that a spring election would be better for the Liberals because it would show the Grits weren't hiding from the scandal.

Talking to reporters in Montreal on Thursday, Prime Minister Martin said he plans to drop the writ when he feels Canadians have enough information about the spending scandal.

"Canadians have got to know that we are getting to the bottom of it (the scandal) and I think they're in the process of seeing that. So there will be a judgment call made," he said after a meeting with doctors at the Montreal Heart Institute.

"We're committing to Canadians that there will be sufficient light cast on this matter and that they will be able to make a judgment call."

Martin is expected to call a spring election, possibly around April 4 for a May 10 vote, though it seems unlikely that a judicial inquiry into the sponsorship scandal will begin hearing witnesses before then.

Despite that, Martin said Canadians need more information before they go to the polls.

The judicial inquiry will be headed by Quebec Judge John Gomery. It is just one of many ways that Martin has tried to show he is ready to take action in the scandal in an attempt to halt a drop in support.

Support for the Liberals has fallen hard since Feb. 10, when Auditor General Sheila Fraser released her report on the scandal. She revealed $100 million in commissions and fees were paid to Liberal-friendly ad agencies, apparently for little or no work.

In a related development, sources in the Prime Minister's Office told Sun Media that Martin plans to take action against the Crown heads suspended over the scandal by tomorrow.