Candidate involved in crash weekend before election

One Iqaluit candidate ended his campaign with a near head-on collision over the weekend, just before Monday’s election day.

Walter Picco was in the passenger seat while his wife Maggie Aqpik, who is also the financial agent for his campaign, drove along Niaqunngusiariaq Road with their one-month-old infant in her car seat on Saturday around 6 p.m.

This vehicle was involved in a crash on Niaqunngusiariaq Road in Iqaluit on Saturday evening. Two people were treated for minor injuries and released from hospital. (Photo by Daron Letts)

Picco is one of four candidates vying to represent the Iqaluit-Niaqunnguu riding, which includes the Apex neighbourhood, left vacant after Premier P.J. Akeeagok announced he would not seek re-election to Nunavut’s seventh legislative assembly.

Picco and the driver of the other vehicle were taken to hospital with minor injuries and later released, RCMP spokesperson Sgt. George Henrie said.

“They were all taken to the hospital as a precaution,” Henrie said in an email.

“We are both well, along with our baby girl,” Aqpik said in an interview. “The vehicle crashed into us.”

One northwest-facing SUV near the driveway to Nunavut Artcic College had a rear tire missing, while a smaller southeast-facing vehicle had its hood open.

“It was quite the fright,” Picco said.

The loss of the couple’s SUV did not prevent Picco’s campaign from driving elders to the polls earlier in the day, Aqpik said Monday afternoon.

“We were lucky to be able to borrow my best friend’s truck so we’ve been giving voters a ride throughout the day,” she said.