The Government of Canada Series consists of documents related to his activity as Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance, responsible for federal provincial relations (1964-1968), Economic Advisor to The Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau on the Constitution (1968-1970), Deputy Minister of the Treasury Board (1970-1973) and Deputy Minister of National Health and Welfare (1973-1975).
As Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance, in the Lester B. Pearson government, A. W. Johnson played a key-role in the creation of Canada Pension Plan, universal Medicare, a fund for students, and the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, which led to the foundation of a bilingual civil service. These activities are reflected in this series.
As Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau on the Constitution and as As Deputy Minister of of the Treasury Board, Johnson was involved in the creation of the Wage and Price Controls policy and different committees related to taxing power and spending power of the government and control on financial institutions. This series contains files related to constitutional conferences, the reports entitled The Spending Power of Parliament and The Taxing Power of Parliament and files concerning different committees.
As Deputy Minister of National Health and Welfare under the Minister Marc Lalonde, Johnson was involved in the discussion with Quebec concerning the social security plan and allowances and in the writing of the orange book, Social Policy in Canada. Marc Lalonde was the personal secretary of P. E. Trudeau before becoming Minister of National Health and Welfare and his chief advisor on the situation in Quebec, the energy crisis and constitutional questions. Johnson also took part in these discussions by becoming Lalonde's advisor. It contains files related to these activities.
This series also contains official portraits of Al Johnson, a photograph of Lester B. Pearson's Cabinet, a group photograph of the Provincial Premiers Conference in 1964, and some photographs of Al Johnson during his professional activities with the Government and with many associations like the National Film Board.
