Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.07.2015, Side 1

LÖGBERG
HEIMSKRINGLA
The Icelandic Community Newspaper • 1 July 2015 • Number 13 / Númer 13 • 1. júlí 2015
Publication Mail Agreement No. 40012014 ISSN: 0047-4967
VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.LH-INC.CA
The poet Kristinn
Stefánsson was a carpenter
by day / page 15
Norrøna and the
General Strike
Winnipeg’s Norwegian
newspaper outshone the city’s
dailies in 1919 / page 10
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir says
Iceland was settled as much by
words as by people / page 5
The power of
language
The carpenter
poet
INSIDE
PHOTO: STEFAN JONASSON
PHOTO: SELMA PARSONS
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Links at the Lake Golf Course
Gimli, MB July 31, 2015
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Icelandic president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson had a busy schedule on his trip
to Canada, but on June 9, he
managed to squeeze in a visit
with members of the Friends of
Iceland group in Ottawa.
At a reception held at the
ambassador’s residence, the
president noted that his first
official visit to the Canadian
capital was in 1983, when he
was a member of Alþingi. This
year’s trip was his first visit
since becoming president and
the first presidential visit since
the embassy was established in
2001.
“You might say it is high
time for a visit,” he joked.
He mentioned that on
previous trips to Canada he
had been to British Columbia,
Alberta, Manitoba, the
Northwest Territories, and
Newfoundland and Labrador.
He was struck by the efforts
of Icelandic cultural groups
like the FoI and other Icelandic
National League members.
“We are deeply grateful
for this support,” the president
added.
Earlier in the day, President
Grímsson had lunch with
Governor General David
Johnston. The president gave
the vice-regent a history lesson
on the strong connections
between Iceland and Canada.
He expressed hope that these
links will become stronger.
“We go back a long way on
this continent,” the president
noted.
He thanked Ambassador
Sturla Sigurjónsson for his
efforts in organizing the trip.
In addition to meeting the
governor general, they spent
the afternoon at the Parliament
buildings. The pair left the
reception early to head to
Montreal.
The party was a reunion
for the president and Jack Ives,
the past-president of the FoI
chapter. President Grímsson
was the Icelandic head of state
who presented Ives with the
Order of Falcon.
Iceland’s president meets with Friends of Iceland in Ottawa
Paul Park
Ottawa, ON
Ambassador Sturla Sigurjónsson, President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
and Friends of Iceland president Wendy Wynne-Jones
Ólöf Sigvaldadóttir of the Embassy of Iceland, Daja
Kjartansdóttir of Friends of Iceland, President Grímsson
and Volundur (Wally) Thorbjornsson of FoI.
PHOTO: PAUL PARK
Page 3
Luncheon with the president at the National Club:
ICCT President Kara Schuster, Consul General Jon
Johnson, President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Consul
Gail Einarson-McCleery, Reynir Sæmundsson, and
Ambassador Sturla Sigurjónsson.
President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
in Toronto for a triple header
PHOTO: PAUL PARK
PHOTO: MARC WHITEWAY