Nunavut was split off from the Northwest Territories at the stroke of midnight yesterday to become the country's third territory, in addition to 10 provinces. It covers a fifth of Canada's land, from Hudson Bay to Ellesmere Island on the Arctic Ocean.

``"We the people of Nunavut have gained control of our destiny and will once again determine out own path,'' Premier Paul Okalik, wearing seal-skin boots and vest, told Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and others celebrating the creation of Nunavut, which meas `our land' in the Inuit language, Nuktitut.

``We have a daunting task... we are confident that by working with our western and southern neighbours we will overcome our enormous challenges.''

Okalik, 34, is an Inuk (singular for Inuit) and like many of them was an alcoholic, servedtime in jail for a break-in and had a close relative, his brother, commit suicide. He turned his life around and is now Nunavut's only Inuk lawyer, but remains keenly aware of the problems his government faces.

Eighty-five percent of Nunavut's 27,000 (people are Inuit, formerly called Eskimos, for thousands of years until the late 1950s and early 1960s, they roamed the frozen north, hunting, fishing and living in igloos and tents.