Stephen Harper’s appointment of Roger Tasse illustrates the dependency of politicians on the bureaucracy and the power bureaucrats wield.

Mr. Tasse joined the federal bureaucracy in 1956 at the federal Department of Justice and left in 1985 for private practice. In his 29 years in government, he was appointed Deputy Solicitor General, Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General. As a lawyer in private practice, he continued working for the federal government.

Since then he has had a long and illustrious career working on national and international cases for both Liberal and Conservative governments. At one point he was Brain Mulroney’s lawyer when the Mounties were investigating the former prime minister over alleged Airbus kickbacks.

Bob Kotyk