Martin says he'll address Canadians on sponsorship on Thursday

OTTAWA (CP) - Prime Minister Paul Martin will make an extraordinary nationally broadcast address to Canadians on Thursday on the sponsorship program and the paralysis in Parliament. He will turn to Canadians in what could be the final days of his minority government, with polls showing the 12-year Liberal stranglehold on power may be coming to an end. A new Decima Research poll shows that revelations at the Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship scandal have cost the Liberals significant support to the benefit of the Conservative party. The Conservatives stand at 35 per cent nationally, compared to 28 per cent for the Liberals and 18 per cent for the NDP. Parliament has been bogged down in acrimonious debate for weeks as opposition parties jockey for position in a threatened spring election. "We're clearly in an exceptional circumstance," said Scott Reid, Martin's communications director. "While he will not be proposing that Parliament be dissolved or prorogued, he will be direct in saying what he has done and what he believes should be done to address the current situation."

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