Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.09.2017, Page 2

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kjarninn.is – Iceland is the only country in the European
Economic Area (EEA) that has not abolished the state’s monopoly
on postal services, but there are plans to do so. A parliamentary bill
to accomplish this is expected to be introduced in Alþingi this fall.
Last month, the Iceland Chamber of Commerce submitted a brief
on this matter to the Ministry of Transport and Local Government.
This brief included a draft of a parliamentary bill on postal services.
Its draft proposes that the state’s monopoly be abolished and that the
postal market be opened for competition while ensuring economical
minimal services throughout Iceland.
According to the draft of the parliamentary bill, the changes
have a long prelude. A 1940 law defined the state’s monopoly on
postal services. However, since 1998, amendments to the European
Union’s regulations have reduced the monopoly. The current law is
from 2002. According to it, letters weighing less than 50 grams are
subject to the monopoly.
The parliamentary bill expected this fall is based on a directive
of the European Parliament from 2008. All other states in the EEA
have already legalized the directive and cancelled the government’s
monopoly on postal services. The Chamber of Commerce
applauded this step and wholeheartedly endorsed the purpose of the
parliamentary bill. According to their brief, the chamber deemed
the planned abolition of the monopoly to be the first step toward
acceptable and economical postal services in an active competitive
environment and with minimal cost for the public sector.
Reprinted with permission from Icelandic News Briefs,
published by KOM PR.
Iceland’s state postal monopoly may be nearing an end
PHOTO: BERND HILDEBRANDT
An Icelandic postbox in the countryside
Dr. Anne-Tamara Lorre, the Ambassador
of Canada to Iceland, gave a short but
energetic address during the Traditional
Program on August 7 at Íslendingadagurinn in
Gimli. Opening with greetings in Icelandic, the
ambassador then said, “I am delighted to be here
with you today for the first time in Manitoba and
the first time at this festival, but certainly not
the last time.” By the time she had finished her
remarks, it was clear that the crowd would hold
her to her promise to return.
“There’s three things I wanted to tell you
today,” said the ambassador. “First, I’ve been
very much amazed by the resilience of this
community, by the great hardships that it met
when it was arriving here, having left Iceland, and
that Viking spirit that speaks of innovation and
resilience, and success against great odds. I’ve
seen it in Iceland in the last year I’ve been there,
appointed to represent you over there, and I find
it here also in this community that I’m visiting
for the first time. So I think it’s highly impressive
and I do understand why Manitoba was the first
province to grant the vote to women in Canada.
I think that this community has something to do
with it.” She went on to say, “this is very much
in line with the agenda of the governments of
Iceland and of Canada – of empowering women
and gender equality.”
Ambassador Lorre encouraged Canadians to
visit the Embassy of Canada whenever they visit
Reykjavík and to make use of the embassy when
seeking to do business in Iceland or to study in
the country. “I’m very much looking forward to
helping you in your endeavours when you try
to trade in Iceland, to visit Iceland, to study in
Iceland, to marry in Iceland. Please come to see
me, visit the embassy when you’re there. We’ll
be looking forward to that, to hear from you and
support you, because we’re there truly for you.”
She also expressed her hope that Premier Brian
Pallister, whose wife is of Icelandic ancestry,
would visit Iceland soon and hinted that Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau may become the first
sitting Canadian prime minister to visit the
country.
The ambassador concluded her remarks by
emphasizing the importance of trade between
Iceland and Canada, especially Manitoba. “In
terms of trade, I think that our nations are great
traders – we’re free traders. We strive from that
and the successful economy, the success of our
nations and our communities, the richness, is
based on that – on our being welcoming and open-
minded. And I think that’s true of Iceland and of
Canada. So I’m looking forward to working with
Minister [Guðlaugur Þór] Þórðarson to bring us
to the next level in that respect because I want
to see ‘Icelandic meat’ from Manitoba on the
shelves of Costco Iceland and I think we should
have Crown Royal, distilled here in Manitoba,
at the Keflavík duty free. I would like to just ask
you, next time you go to that airport, please stop
and ask for the Canadian wine and spirits section
– because there’s not one right now. But I think if
we all do it – and I do it every time I go through
there – we might get somewhere.” The crowd
burst into spirited applause at this suggestion and
it seems likely that the ambassador may have
begun a movement.
Ambassador Lorre lifts spirits at Gimli
Robert T. Kristjanson
125 5th Avenue
Gimli, MB R0C 1B0
Fax: 204-642-7306
Phone: 204-642-5283 Wouldn’t your amma and afi be proud?
THE ICELANDIC NATIONAL LEAGUE OF NORTH AMERICA
Tel: (204) 642 5897
Email: inl@mts.net www.inlofna.org
Are you proud of your Icelandic Heritage?
Do you want to see it preserved for your children and grandchildren?
Are you a member of your local Icelandic Club?
Don’t know where they are or who to contact?
Visit our website for more information or contact our INL office.
If you don’t have a club in your area but are interested in
forming one, please call the INL office.
PHOTO: CINDY JONASSON
Canadian ambassador’s remarks at Íslendingadagurinn