Johnson, A. W. (Albert Wesley), 1923-2010 : Albert W. Johnson was born in Insinger, Saskatchewan, October 18, 1923. He is the son of a Methodist minister, the Rev. Thomas Johnson, who had immigrated to Canada from England and married a Nova Scotian, Louise Croft. At Regina College, University of Saskatchewan, (1939-1940), he was President of the Dramatics and Debating Directorate and member of the Students Representative Council. He was awarded the University of Saskatchewan Scholarship on admission and Bissell Bursary, an award made to children of United Church Ministers.. While a student he was a member of Year Book publishing staff, member and later, president of the Students' Council of the College of Arts and Science, member of the Students' Representative Council, and he obtained once again the Bissell Bursary. In 1942, he obtained his BA. In 1943, he received a medical discharge for his army service and worked in Boeing Aircraft of Canada's factory. In 1945, he obtained an MA in public administration from the University of Toronto when he was also part time assistant to Professor A. Brady in Political Science. Twice in mid-career he returned to Harvard University in what is now the Kennedy School of Government, first taking a Masters degree as a Littauer Fellow in 1950 and then in 1957-58 for a PhD in political economy. In 1946, he married Ruth Hardy, daughter of Thomas Johnson's fellow minister Ralph Hardy and Myrtle Watson, both from Ontario. Ruth Hardy, like Al Johnson, was born in small-town Saskatchewan, in Hafford, though brought up in the British Columbia interior where she and Al met. They had four children.
Government of Saskatchewan
After his graduation from University of Toronto, Al Johnson was appointed District Supervisor II in the Adult Education Division of the Department of Education of Saskatchewan. He organized meetings, conferences, led panel discussions and gave lectures on phases of the program at Leadership Training School for Community Leaders. In September 1945, he was appointed Supervisor of the "Lighted School Program" adult evening classes as well as Supervisor of Administration. He established the program in two cities in Saskatchewan and produced manuals. In November 1946, when the Budget Bureau was established, Johnson transferred to the position of Administrative Analyst I and II. Under the direction of the Chief of the Administrative Management Division, he did administrative surveys (Mail and Message services, Public Service Commission, and Hospital Services Plan) and installed new procedures. He wrote part of the Public Service Commission Manual of Procedures and drafted a set of Regulations, which were recommended to the Chairman of the Commission. In January 1947, he was loaned to the Hospital Services Plan to act as Special Administrative Assistant where he assisted the Director on organization and procedures and participated in policy deliberations. Concurrently, he directed a staff of 150 employees in the Division of Registration and Tabulation. In September 1949, he was appointed Chief of the Administrative Management Division of the Budget Bureau and made responsible for advising on machinery of government and management processes.
After completing an MA at Harvard University, Johnson traveled in Britain and Europe for three months, and then returned to his job at the Budget Bureau. In 1952, at the age of 28, he was appointed Deputy Provincial Treasurer and Secretary of the Treasury Board, a role in which he served for the next twelve years. From then until 1964, Johnson was closely involved with building one of Canada's most admired and professional public administrations and with public policy initiatives ranging from the introduction of universal Medicare to proposing with others the Wascana Centre complex of parkland, facilities, university and Provincial Legislature in the heart of Regina; from governance of the University of Saskatchewan to strengthening open financial accountability of the government to the legislature, and establishment of Canada's first arts granting council - all while playing a key role in support of the Provincial Treasurer in sustaining balanced budgets year after year. Johnson's writings on public administration, beginning in those years, reflected his view of the responsibilities of senior officials to explain and educate as well as advise and administer. As an administrator, Johnson devoted particular efforts to the recruitment of talented young Canadians graduating from universities across the country - a remarkable feat for a small province, made possible by Johnson's personal talent-spotting and recruitment travel as well as to a network of professorial friends - and to their training and development.
More widely, Johnson's responsibilities made him familiar with the workings of economic markets and financial institutions; and took him into across Canada for federal-provincial fiscal and economic discussions establishing trustworthy relationships with fellow provincial government officials and premiers. One fruit of that experience was the comprehensive, national fiscal equalization principles and approach only later implemented by the Government of Canada. Johnson developed its principles and broad design while on leave from the Government of Saskatchewan at Harvard in 1957-58, and advanced it with the assistance of a few colleagues in Saskatchewan. Premier Tommy Douglas felt any such proposal should come from the national government. When Johnson brought the design with him to Ottawa in 1964, he was able to have the formula worked out further and was given the green light to table the proposal for consultation with provinces at the Continuing Committee of Officials on Fiscal and Economic Matters, and subsequently to consult with premiers and their officials: on that basis, the Government of Canada adopted the new equalization payments approach as its policy and legislation was passed in 1967.
Government of Canada
In July 1964, the NDP was defeated in Saskatchewan. A second career opened with Johnson's move in 1964 to the Government of Canada, attracted to behind-the-scenes of the national stage by legendary "mandarin" R.B. Bryce. Johnson was appointed as Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance responsible for federal-provincial fiscal relations, playing a key role in the introduction of national medicare system, development of a federal revenue equalization system, and the design of a federal college and university grant system.
Under Prime Minister Pearson, Johnson and Cabinet Secretary Gordon Robertson, and Jean Baetz, he prepared a fundamental policy statement by the Government of Canada which launched in 1968 a comprehensive review process aimed at "adapting Canada's constitutional and governmental arrangements so as to better achieve the goals of our federation", and encompassing a guarantee of individual rights in the Constitution (proposed as the first step), adaptation of the national institutions of government (the second step), and reviewing the division of powers of government between the federal and provincial governments (the third step). Much of this statement contained in "Federalism for the Future" is of enduring interest today.
In 1968, Johnson was appointed as Prime Minister Trudeau's Economic Advisor on the Constitution and in 1970 Secretary of the Treasury Board. As the review continued, Johnson was responsible for the preparation of key working papers on the constitution, on behalf of Prime Minister Trudeau and the Minister of Finance, notably on "Income Security and Social Services", "Federal-Provincial Grants and the Spending Power of Parliament", and "Taxing Powers and the Constitution of Canada".
In 1973, he became the Deputy Minister of National Health and Welfare. As the senior official in the Department of Finance responsible for federal-provincial relations and tax policy during the government of Prime Minister Pearson, then successively as economic advisor on the Constitution to Prime Minister Trudeau, Secretary (Deputy Minister) to the Treasury Board and Deputy Minister of National Health and Welfare, Johnson contributed to major public policies including the establishment of comprehensive, principled fiscal equalization, reform and enhancement of federal support for provincial post-secondary education, fostering and meeting the needs of an educational revolution echoing today; a national art bank; and the launch of Medicare as a national policy, modeled on Saskatchewan's pioneering concept.
In 1973, on behalf of the Government and of the Minister of National Health and Welfare, Marc Lalonde, whose Deputy Minister Johnson then was, he drafted the "Working Paper on Social Security in Canada" - known as "the orange book"- which launched a comprehensive national and federal-provincial review. Starting with "the proposition that creativity is a personal act; it is the product of creative minds, not of structures or committees or manuals of instruction", he distinguished "creativity in government" from artistic freedom from restraints or "undirected creativity, ...personal self-realization": "No, creativity in government is...a matter of 'directed' or 'channeled' creativity - directed at resolving public policy problems, at realizing other people's goals".
CBC and broadcasting years
In 1975, Johnson was appointed President and Chairman of the Board of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). During those years, Al Johnson was involved in the creation of a coast-to-coast institution, which was included in the motto of CBC in 1977: "Bringing Canadians Together". He worked to create a more bilingual and regional television (New Brunswick, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, etc). After the opening of a French FM stereo network in 1974, the English stereo network was open in 1975. CBC was also host broadcaster for the Summer Olympics in Montreal (1976) and for the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton (1978). Johnson participated in the CRTC hearings on pay TV. During this period, CBC also designed and installed broadcast facilities in the House of Commons at Speaker's request. Johnson also participated in the accountability framework for the Crown Corporation Committee. Johnson was also President of Telesat Canada and continued to take part in the Canadian Broadcast Radio League. During the summer 1981, programmes were interrupted by the technical workers' strike. After three months, the strike ended with a court injunction.
Professor, scholar and policy consultant
In 1982, Johnson resigned as CBC President and Chairman to become a teacher, scholar, policy consultant and Skelton-Clark Fellow at Queen's University, then Professor of Public Policy and Public Administration at the University of Toronto, and Senior Research Fellow at the Government of Canada's Centre for Management Development. These professorial years occasioned new writings, sometimes on highly controversial public issues of the day such as free trade, Canadian federalism, federal-provincial fiscal arrangements, and constitutional reform, as well as public broadcasting. He joined, for instance, the highly charged national debate over the federal and provincial governments' Meech Lake constitutional accord.
During this period, the government of Saskatchewan commissioned Al Johnson to lead a review of governance of its two universities. The Government of Canada also commissioned a report on its roles in advancing post-secondary education in a decentralized federation.
International development
Concurrently, Johnson took up the opportunity to branch into a career in international development. In Indonesia, on behalf of the International Monetary Fund, he became Special Advisor on National Provincial Fiscal Arrangements (1988), then as Head of Mission on Administrative Modernization for the Canadian International Development Agency (1991), before participating in one of the great transformations of the late twentieth century -- South Africa's rapid movement from apartheid to multi-racial democracy under the inspirational leadership of Nelson Mandela. In 1992 - two years before the historic elections - Mandela asked Prime Minister Mulroney to assist the people of South Africa in their preparations for democracy. Johnson was appointed as senior advisor to help decide how best Canada could assist. From this quickly grew what became the South Africa/Canada Program on Governance (PoG), with Johnson as founder and its resident special advisor. During six years Al Johnson worked regularly with senior civil servants in South Africa. In 1996, President Mandela appointed Johnson as a Commissioner of South Africa's Presidential Review Commission on the Public Service.
Post retirement career
In 1999, Johnson came back to Canada at age 76. With the assistance of his colleague Rosemary Proctor, Johnson devoted five years to reconsideration, research, and reflection upon the Douglas' Saskatchewan government as "an ideal candidate for a history of a whole government" and "a case study of the art and the practice of governing", as well as a case study on each of many elements of governance usually studied separately. The result was Dream No Little Dreams: A Biography of the Douglas Government of Saskatchewan, 1944-1961, cited by the Canadian Political Science Association as best book of 2004.
Even though retired from public life, Al Johnson's expertise was in demand on many subjects. Among others, in 2001, Johnson participated in the Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, headed by Roy Romanow. The Romanow report, released in 2002, outlined suggestions to improve the health care system.
Associations
During his career, Al Johnson was member of many associations and boards. He was member and founder of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (1951-1969), member and President of the Canadian Broadcast Radio League (?-?), member of the Board of University of Saskatchewan (1957-1964), member of the Royal Commission on Banking and Finance (1962), member of the Canadian Political Science Association (1963-1964) and the Ottawa Political Economy Association (1969-1970), member of the Board of the National Film Board of Canada (1970-1982), member of the editorial board of Canadian Public Policy (1974-1975), member of the Board of the National Arts Centre, President of the Task Force on the Federal Financing of Post secondary Education and Research in Canada (1984-1985), President of the Canadian Broadcasting League (1985-1989) and President of the Task Force on University Education in Saskatchewan (1992-1993).
Honours
Albert W. Johnson received many honours during his career. He received the Vanier Medal, the Gold Medal of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, the ANIK award and honorary degrees from Dalhousie University, Mount Allison University, Carleton University, University of Saskatchewan, and University of Regina. Al Johnson was made Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981 and Companion of the Order of Canada in 2006.
The Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Regina was named in honour of Al Johnson and his friend Thomas Shoyama in 2007.
