Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Sep 26/01) - The number of Canadian citizens grew by two in Rankin Inlet this past week.

Hungary native Maria Teglas and Swiss-born Fabienne Theytaz successfully wrote their citizenship exams and were officially declared Canadian citizens by Justice Beverley Browne of the Nunavut Court of Justice.

Teglas has lived in Canada for the past six years and says becoming a Canadian citizen means a lot, especially when you take what it means to be Canadian seriously.

"There are some hardships that come with it as well," says Teglas. "While it's true you get to enjoy the best of both cultures, you stop being part of the one you came from and, as an adult, you can never really be part of the one you enter."

Since arriving in Canada in 1995, Teglas has spent time in Kitchener, Ont., Yellowknife, Iqaluit, Pond Inlet and Rankin.

Married to lawyer Tim Kavanagh, she learned a lot about Canada studying for her citizenship exam.

"I have grown to deeply respect the generosity of Canadians and the role they play in the world. The multi-cultural reality of Canada is also a wonderful thing," she says.

Theytaz is a volunteer in the Catholic Church and was sworn in four years to the day she first came to Canada.

She says she is surprised by how fast and easy it is to become a Canadian citizen.

"I am happy at the same time, because I share a home in this part of Canada and that is why I applied for citizenship," says Theytaz. "My biggest impression during my four years here is that in this country, anything is possible."

Coming from a relatively small country like Switzerland, Theytaz has also been impressed with the vastness of Canada, especially Nunavut.

She says becoming a Canadian citizen will also be a big help to her professionally.

"Being a Canadian citizen is security for me because when you travel as much as I have in the past, you often get stuck because of visa, permits and other paperwork. "I have encountered many difficulties like that, so, in addition to it being nice to have citizenship, it might also make some things easier for me."