Robert Johannson

Robert Johannson is a former politician in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served on the Winnipeg City Council from 1971 to 1977, and later campaigned for the New Democratic Party (NDP) at the federal and provincial levels.

Political career

Johannson was elected to the Winnipeg City Council in the 1971 municipal election, and was re-elected in 1974. He was a member of the NDP Municipal Caucus and a Spokesperson for the Municipal wing of the NDP. He campaigned for the NDP in the riding of Winnipeg—Assiniboine in the 1984 federal election, and finished third against Progressive Conservative Dan McKenzie. He later ran for the New Democratic Party of Manitoba in the 1988 provincial election, and finished third against Liberal Party candidate Ed Mandrake.

Johannson worked with Parent Empowerment Inc. in the 1990s, providing courses on parenting and communication and assertiveness skills. [Kevin Rollason, "Wayward son exiled by parents, judge", "Winnipeg Free Press", 5 February 1994.] He also recommended that the federal government address tax breaks for RRSPs and pensions in its fiscal austerity program, rather than cutting programs that affect the most vulnerable in society. [Paul Samyn, "Advice? We've got plenty for Ottawa", "Winnipeg Free Press", 4 November 1994.] He expressed disappointment with Paul Martin's 1995 budget. [Gerald Flood, "Hopelessness overwhelms welfare recipient", "Winnipeg Free Press", 28 February 1995.]

He considered campaigning for City Council in 1995 as a candidate of Winnipeg in the '90s, but ultimately decided not to do so. [Nick Martin, "Can WIN broaden its base?", "Winnipeg Free Press", 25 June 1995, A5.]

Johannson wrote a letter "Globe and Mail" newspaper in 2001 that was highly critical of the NDP, indicating that the party "has no coherent or consistent policy, and is always behind the curve". [Robert Johannson, "Left out" [letter] , "Globe and Mail", 16 April 2001, A10.]

Theological career

Johannson was ordained to the Ministry of Word, Sacrament and Pastoral Care by the Manitoba Conference of the United Church of Canada in 1982.

Literary career

Johannson has written two plays: "Charles Wesley", about the early Methodist leader and his more famous brother John Wesley, and "Power", about 1926 negotiations between Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King and Cooperative Commonwealth Federation leader J.S. Woodsworth. [ [http://members.autobahn.mb.ca/~map/rjohannson.htm Manitoba Association of Playwrights: Robert Johannson] , accessed 27 October 2006.] His most recent production "The Ecstasy of St. Teresa", a play about Teresa of Avila was produced at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival in 2003.

ystem Theory

In collaboration with his wife Joan Johannson he wrote "Empowerment: A Systems Approach to People and Groups" [ISBN 1-896474-00-4] ,He developed the Johannson Model for analysing systems. He is a proponent of the metaphysics of [http://ca.geocities.com/robert_johannson/ process dualism] . [ [http://ca.geocities.com/robert_johannson/ The New Paradigm] ]

Family

Robert Johannson is married to Joan Johannson, and is the father of Catharine Johannson, Elizabeth Johannson and Mike Johannson. In recent years, Joan, Catharine and Mike have campaigned for the Green Party of Canada or the Green Party of Manitoba. Robert Johannson is also a member of the Green Party.

Footnotes