While taxpayers fume over how millions of their dollars were dubiously spent under the federal sponsorship program, finding out how much the investigation will cost could raise their blood even further.

The federal government has confirmed with CTV News that the bill for the Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship program could run as high as $72 million.

The mountains of research and documents, plus the forensic accountants required to pour over it, have pushed the legal bill into the tens of millions. The audit alone has cost at least $7 million.

Documents obtained by CTV News have uncovered the legal fees for three of the inquiry's top lawyers:

• Lead counsel Bernard Roy: $969,480.
• Co-counsel Neil Finkelstein: $1,004,480.
• Associate counsel Guy Cournoyer: $805,400.

And the bill continues to climb as these lawyers and dozens of their colleagues remain on the clock.

In fact, the Gomery commission itself warned the federal government in a memo: it will be "very difficult to predict financial requirements accurately."

But Public Works Minister Scott Brison told CTV News that it will all be worth it in the end.

"Getting the truth for Canadians on an important issue, and changing the culture of government to benefit Canadian taxpayers for generations is well worth the money," said Brison.

Bill Good, CTV Vancouver anchor and host of a talk radio show, said he's been listening to taxpayers' fury for weeks over the allegations of Liberal corruption coming out of the inquiry.

Good said his listeners want to see results for the considerable sum being spent on the inquiry. "They do want to see Ottawa shaken up."

"What they really want is for somebody to pay a price: a political price, and a criminal price. (They) want people to be accountable. They want to see people go to jail."

But CTV's Paula Newton reports that won't happen until the RCMP and the courts complete their work -- and that will cost millions more.

In February of this year, it was estimated that the cost of investigating the sponsorship program would be about $60 million.

That's nearly three times the $21 million originally approved by the federal government; and more than half the $100 million in questionable payments allegedly doled out during the sponsorship program, including some to Liberal-friendly ad agencies.

Based on a report by CTV's Paula Newton.