2008 yılında ABD’de başlayan ve daha sonra Avrupa Borç krizi ile alevlenen dünya finansal sisteminin durumu sülkeleri farklı kararlar almaya itiyor. İzlanda kendi para birimi Kron’u terkedip, Kanada Doları’na geçmek istiyor. Üstelik ülke bunu AB üyesi olmak için çalışmalarını sürdürürken yapıyor. Geçtiğimiz günlerde Kanada’nın İzlanda Büyükelçisi Alan Bones yaptığı açıklamada ‘İzlanda Kanada Doları’na geçmeyi düşünürse ve kararının netleştirirse, Kanada bu konuyu görüşmeye hazır’ şeklinde konuştu. En son İzlandalılar arasında yapılan kamuoyu yoklamasında halkın tavrı net olarak ortaya çıktı. Ülkenin 2008 yılında yaşadığı çöküş sonrasında, her on İzlandalı'dan yedisinin sürekli oynaklık gösteren İzlanda Kronu'nu yerine bir başka ülkenin para birimini kullanmayı tercih etttiği ortaya çıktı. Araştırmadan İzlanda’lıların Kanada Doları’nı tercih ettiği sonucu da ortaya çıktı. Ayrıca uzmanlar, İzlanda ile Kanada’nın neredeyse aynı soğuk iklimde yaşadığını, Kanada’nın genç ABD olduğunu ve enerji kaynaklarının oldukça fazla olduğuna dikkat çekerek ‘İzlanda’ya çok uygun bir ülke” diye konuşuyorlar. Bu olay, halen rezerv para olarak kullanılan ABD Doları'nın ne kadar daha rezerv para kalabileceği sorusunun yanıt arayanlara ufak bir yol gösterici olarak duruyor! Haberin orjinal metnini okumak için haberin devamını tıklayın
Canadian ambassador to Iceland Alan Bones had planned to deliver remarks to a conference on the future of the Icelandic Krona, making it clear that if Iceland decided to adopt the Canadian dollar, with all its inherent risks, Canada was ready to talk.
But his speech, slated for Saturday, was abruptly cancelled when news of the remarks was reported in Iceland and Canada, led by The Globe and Mail.
“Once we got wind of [the speech] and it went through the approval channels, we decided it was not an appropriate venue,” said Joseph Lavoie, Foreign Minister John Baird’s press secretary. “It’s a political event. So that the decision was made that it’s not an appropriate event for him to speak at . . . While he may have thought about delivering those remarks, those remarks won’t be delivered.”
Mr. Lavoie pointed to a statement issued late Friday by the department as the government’s official position.
“Canada does not comment publicly on other countries' currencies,” according to the statement. “This is an issue for the Icelandic government and people.”
A group of prominent Icelandic business leaders approached Mr. Bones last year about the idea. And his speech Saturday, to a meeting the country’s opposition Progressive Party, would have been Canada’s first public response.
The Bank of Canada referred all calls about the issue to the Finance Department, where officials were tight-lipped.
There’s a compelling economic case why Iceland would want to adopt the Canadian dollar. It offers the tantalizing prospect of a stable, liquid currency that roughly tracks global commodity prices, nicely matching Iceland’s own economy, which is dependent on fish and aluminum exports, and in the future, energy.
There’s also a more sentimental reason. They’re both cold, Arctic countries.
“The average person looks at it this way: Canada is a younger version of the U.S. Canada has more natural resources than the U.S., it’s less developed, has more land, lots of water,” explained Heidar Gudjonsson, an economist and chairman of the Research Centre for Social and Economic Studies, Iceland’s largest think tank.
“And Canada thinks about the Arctic.”
Officially, the Icelandic government is targeting membership in the 27-member euro zone. But support among Icelanders is slipping.
In a recent Gallup poll, seven out of 10 Icelanders said they would happily dump their volatile and fragile krona for another currency. Their favoured alternative is the Canadian dollar, easily outscoring the U.S. dollar, the euro and the Norwegian krone.
Iceland is in a bind. The country imposed strict currency controls after its spectacular banking collapse in 2008. Foreign-exchange transactions are capped at 350,000 kronur (about $3,500). A major downside of those controls is that foreign investors can’t repatriate their profits, making Iceland an unattractive place to do business.
Those capital controls are slated to start coming off next year. And many experts fear a return to the wild swings of the past – in inflation, lending rates and the currency itself. Iceland is the smallest country in the world still clinging to its own currency and monetary policy. The krona soared nearly 90 per cent between 2001 and 2007, only to crash 92 per cent after the financial crisis in 2008.
The official Icelandic government plan is to adopt the euro. Iceland has applied to join the European Union and eventually the euro zone. But that’s not looking like a very attractive option these days. And formal entry could take a decade, experts said.
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