There are many reasons for Paul Martin to delay calling a spring election. But if the Prime Minister is serious about getting to the bottom of the sponsorship scandal, there is only one reason that matters.

That is the need for Parliament to pass whistle-blower protection legislation so the investigation can begin in earnest.

There is currently no law to protect public sector workers who report government wrongdoing from administrative retribution like being harassed, demoted, passed up for promotion or even fired.

Passing whistle-blower legislation would permit federal employees to come forward with information explaining how 100-million taxpayers' dollars ended up in the pockets of Liberal-friendly firms.

On Tuesday, Treasury Board President Reg Alcock took steps in that direction when he assured federal employees they are safe from reprisals. The government, he said, will offer the same guarantees that would be in effect if Ottawa had a whistle-blower law.

This does not go far enough. The government hopes to introduce whistle-blower legislation in the Commons later this month. But it is unlikely the bill can be passed into law before Mr. Martin's spring election timetable.

Going to the polls early could leave public servants out on a limb.

"I will protect them," Mr. Alcock vowed this week. Well, bully for him.

While one may applaud his good intentions, one doubts that most federal bureaucrats about to put their neck on the line would trust Alcock any further than they could throw him across Parliament Hill.

This is, after all, the same government that dealt a deathblow to the career of Francois Beaudoin, the former president of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), for standing up to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.

Beaudoin's sin was to recommend the BDC call in a $615,000 loan to the Auberge Grand-Mère, a hotel located in Chrétien's riding and adjacent to a golf course in which Chrétien had a financial interest.

The former Prime Minister told Canadians he did not lobby the government-owned bank for the loan. He lied, but it was Beaudoin who lost his job - and nearly lost his pension. According to the courts, Beaudoin was persecuted for his actions and "suffered an unspeakable injustice as a result of this matter." Earlier this month, a judge ordered Ottawa to pay Mr. Beaudoin his severance and pension.

Martin should understand concerns federal employees have over reprisals.

During the Liberal leadership race he refused to comply with guidelines requiring him to reveal campaign donors. He feared contributors would be unfairly treated.

Chrétien might be gone but his henchmen remain peppered throughout the federal government. The BDC chairman who pushed Beaudoin out of his job in 1999 is a Chrétien appointee. And Chrétien loyalists run the heads of two Crown corporations linked directly to the advertising scandal - Via Rail and Canada Post.

Under the current reporting structure the only people likely to be penalized are those who step forward with the truth.

Martin, we are told, is infuriated at how Via Rail and Canada Post dismissed the Auditor General's report. This is good, because so are Canadians. But unlike taxpayers, Martin has the power to protect people with relevant information by passing a whistle-blower law. However, this will not happen if Parliament is dissolved for a general election.

If Martin is serious about defending the public interest, then the election must wait.

Martin promised Canadian taxpayers he will get to the bottom of this scandal. He must do so without any delays.

Calling an election will only demonstrate to voters that he is cut from the same cloth as his old boss.