According to a new report from Samara - a charitable group that studies citizen engagement with our political system - MPs are embarrassed by and unsatisfied with the House of Commons. Many believe political parties exert too much control over the work they do and that this leads to an unnecessarily partisan atmosphere which makes it harder to do their work. We talk to the author of the report, as well as former MPs Jean Augustine and Randy White.

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PART ONE

Satire

It's Monday, April 18th.

Today marks the launch of Sun TV, an all-news cable TV network dubbed "Fox News North."

And since the former press secretaries of both Stephen Harper and Stockwell Day are on board ... expect it to be just as fair and balanced.

This is The Current.

Party vs. MP: Samara Report - Alison Loat

Former Conservative MP Helena Guergis has been hitting back hard over the way she is being treated by Conservative leader Stephen Harper. Ms. Guergis was kicked out of the Conservative caucus a year ago, over what we now know are sensational and completely unsubstantiated allegations. And she's running as an independent candidate in this campaign.

It's an extreme example ... But according to a new report, Ms. Guergis isn't the only MP negatively affected by the way political parties manage their members. The report is put out by Samara, a charitable organization that studies citizen engagement with Canada's political system. Among other things, the report concludes that many MPs are embarrassed by the way politics is practiced in Parliament.

Alison Loat is the co-founder and Executive Director of Samara. She was in our Toronto studio.

Party vs. MP: Samara Report - Former MPs

Jean Augustine and Randy White are two of the former MPs who were interviewed for the Samara report. Jean Augustine is a former Liberal MP who's now Ontario's Fairness Commissioner. She was in Toronto. Randy White was an MP with the Reform, Canadian Alliance and Conservative Party. He also served as House Leader and Caucus Chair. He was in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia.

Related Links:

• It's My Party: Parliamentary Dysfunction Reconsidered - Samara Report
• Harper 'tossed me under a bus': Guergis - CBC News

Other segments from today's show:

• NDP Government
• Newfoundland Moose Cull