The Liberals fought a Conservative motion calling on Justice John Gomery to name names and assign responsibility in the sponsorship scandal.

The Tories introduced a motion Tuesday calling on the government to alter the terms of reference for the Gomery commission.

However, Public Works Minister Scott Brison said Gomery can "already name names and can assign responsibility."

"The Conservative motion is, at best, redundant," Brison told a news conference, where he launched a motion to indicate confidence in the inquiry.

"The constructive motion the government is presenting . . . simply affirms that Justice Gomery already has the right to name names and assign responsibilities through the Inquiries Act and through his own mandate."

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, at the news conference with Brison, called the Conservative motion "inappropriate, unfounded, redundant, and prejudicial."

He said it threatens to derail the Gomery inquiry and potentially delay the release of the final report.

Cotler said the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that a commission of inquiry is not a court or a tribunal, and that it's not meant to find criminal or civil liability.

And that, adds Cotler, would "infringe the fundamental rights of those persons and run a very high risk of being struck down by the courts. In other words, having the Gomery Commission in and of itself disabled."

The inquiry is also about to wrap up, and Cotler says changes the terms of reference for the commission at this late stage "could expose the commission and the government to potential legal risks."

As well, related criminal charges of fraud have already been laid, and are ongoing.

An amendment, Cotler says, "could seriously jeopardize any attempt to hold individuals accountable to an ongoing and subsequent criminal prosecution."

But Conservative Deputy Leader Peter MacKay argued that Canadians want to know who is responsible for the scandal.

"The prime minister states that only Gomery can do that. That's not true," MacKay said in the House of Commons.

"The terms of reference prevent Justice Gomery from indicating criminal and civil liability."

Budget legislation battle

Meanwhile, a battle raged Tuesday over budget legislation.

The Commons finance committee heard Tuesday that while a tax-cut clause will be removed from the budget bill - and included in separate legislation - the cuts themselves would proceed as scheduled, beginning in 2008.

This is part of an agreement between the Liberals and the NDP, which involved the government deferring tax cuts to large firms.

"We are committing to postponing the legislation, and not the timing of the reduction," John McKay, the parliamentary secretary to Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, told the committee.

Conservative critic Brian Pallister called that a "shell game."

"The NDP, on this particular issue at least, was duped by the government," he said.

"We don't know what to take at face value anymore. It's very hard to deal with these kinds of deceptive tactics."

The Conservatives could have moved another motion on Tuesday, which was an Opposition day in the House, one that Leader Stephen Harper placed on the Commons order paper in mid-May.

It asks the House to declare that it has lost confidence in the government.

Unlike the motion on the Gomery inquiry, this second motion has the power to topple the government.

It appears unlikely that the Conservatives want to have a summer election.

"You can't take the country to the brink every week and be perceived to be responsible," said Tory finance critic Monte Solberg.

But Tory House Leader Jay Hill has warned his party hasn't settled yet on its final strategy. He refused to rule out a new confidence test, despite the fact that Prime Minister Paul Martin survived one just 10 days ago.

"We have no intention of giving these guys a free ride until September," said Hill.

"As long as we have this loaded gun sitting there, they're going to have to take it seriously.'

Tuesday is also the Tories' last chance to get a non-confidence vote in before the Liberals increase their numbers in Parliament by one crucial member.

Newly-elected Liberal MP Todd Russell, who won the Labrador byelection on May 24, gets sworn in next week and is set to take up his Parliamentary duties on June 6.

The Bloc Quebecois has its Opposition day on Friday.

On CTV's Question Period, Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe indicated he won't try to bring the government down on another confidence motion before the summer break.

With files from The Canadian Press