The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1968, Side 43

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
41
All the scholarships were for $100
except the Good Templar scholarship
which is for $200.00
Mr. Leifur Hallgrimson, the Pres-
ident of The Icelandic Canadian Club
presided.
The final concert, conducted in Ice-
landic, was under the auspices of the
Icelandic National League, and was
presided over by the Vice-President S.
Aleck Thorarinson. Magnus Eliasson
recited three poems. Mrs. Eve Allen
nee Thorvaldson sang solos and Miss
Snjolaug Sigurdson played a piano
solo.
An address was delivered by Her-
mann Palsson, who is Professor of Old
Icelandic and Old Irish in the Univer-
sity of Edinburgh, Scotland. He is at
present on a year’s leave of absence
lecturing in the Centre for Medieval
Studies, in the University of Toronto.
The address is being published in
Logberg-Heimskringla, and references
will be made to it in the next number
of the magazine.
Following the concert, and as has
been the custom, the President of the
League resumed the chairmanship.
The following were elected Honorary
Members of the League.
Dr. George Johnson, the Manitoba
Minister of Education.
Emil Jonsson, the Minister of Extern-
al Affairs, Iceland.
Professor Hermann Palsson, of Edin-
burgh University.
Rev. Philip M. Petursson, President
of The Icelandic National League.
All tire concerts were held in the
Parish Hall of the First Lutheran
Church and after each concert light
refreshments were served in the lower
church parlor.
SOME SURPRISES IN D.E.C.D. STATISTICS
Each year the Organization for Econ-
omic Cooperation and Development
prepares a table of comparative stat-
istics showing “the diversity of the
economies of the 21 member coun-
tries”. Space limitations prevent show-
ing the full comparison, but we are
able to show here Canada’s position,
at the end of 1966, relative to its major
trading partners.
In the complete table, there are
some surprises for those who measure
their country by statistics. It is relative-
ly well-known, for instance, that Swe-
den has overtaken Canada in Gross
National Product per capita, but who
would have believed that Iceland is
also ahead. Canada stands fourth, at
$2,670 (U.S.) of GNP per head, after
the U.S. ($3,840), Sweden ($2,730) and
Iceland ($2,850).
(The above figures show the order
to be as follows: United States, Ice-
land, Sweden, Canada.)
Not far behind are Switzerland, Nor-
way, Germany, France and Denmark,
all of which count more than $2,000
of GNP per capita.
Iceland shares with Canada the dis-
tinction of harboring the smallest num-
ber of inhabitants per square kilo-
meter.
—Fin. Times, March 18-68.