Vancouver police search for woman connected to Pidgin protests

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      A 25-year-old Vancouver woman is wanted by police in connection with protests at the Pidgin restaurant.

      Robyn Claire Pickell allegedly attempted to chain and lock the restaurant’s front doors on March 15, Vancouver police said in a news release today (May 3).

      Police said Pickell is wanted for mischief and faces charges.

      Pidgin has been targeted by anti-gentrification activists who have staged pickets outside the trendy eatery in the Downtown Eastside.

      In April, police warned some protesters they could face charges if they commit acts defined as mischief under the Criminal Code.

      Anyone with information about Pickell’s whereabouts is asked to call police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

      Comments

      22 Comments

      Gastown Goose

      May 3, 2013 at 2:28pm

      Maybe if they didn't charge six dollars a pickell they wouldn't be protesting.

      Vancouver Vole

      May 3, 2013 at 3:51pm

      Sounds a lot like the VPD and Vision Vancouver are using illegal tactics to incarcerate people. Vancouver is so much more safe with their interpretation of the Criminal Code.

      kim

      May 3, 2013 at 4:00pm

      The VPD has lost all credibility with this announcement of the world's first ever pickle hunt. "No one is free until we are all free" - the People's Pickle, quoting MLK

      ACMESalesRep

      May 3, 2013 at 6:04pm

      Okay, Vancouver Vole, I'll bite: What, exactly, is “illegal” about charging someone with mischief for trespassing on private property and attempting to disrupt a business?

      cathy

      May 3, 2013 at 6:27pm

      Trendy well dressed well fed diners chomp on $5 pickles at PiDGiN with the hungry and homeless outside.
      People evicted so the rich can have yet another restaurant to go to.
      This is what is called legal.

      What is just, humane & right have nothing to do with the law and those who enforce it.

      Pickles

      May 3, 2013 at 8:26pm

      I think I read somewhere that tenancy has increased in the DTES and that no one was living in the space this restaurant now occupies? Why not channel protests toward the dealers who suck the life out of the residents on a daily basis?

      ACMESalesRep

      May 3, 2013 at 9:13pm

      Cathy:

      People like Makoto Ono, and Sean Heather, and Mark Brand have given a hell of a lot to the community. Why should they be punished for their efforts? Who in their right mind thinks that protesting much-needed investment and jobs and a strong financial commitment to the DTES is anything but shameless self-promotion? Do you honestly think that the area is worse off now than it was, say, fifteen years ago? Do you think that keeping people out will somehow magically make all of its problems go away? Because I don't.

      On one hand you've got people investing their time and their sweat to try to turn the DTES around. On the other, you've got people protesting their efforts for no apparent reason other than the fact that they've been left out. It seems to me that what's “just, humane and right” is, in this case, perfectly aligned with the law and with those who enforce it.

      Radio

      May 4, 2013 at 12:59am

      You can't "turn the DTES around" by pushing low-income people out. That's the problem and doesn't solve anything. Low-income families were evicted from the housing above PIDGIN to make way for higher paying tenants. Gentrification is not the answer to the problems of the neighbourhood, and pushing people out of their community only amplifies the problems faced by a community that already has all the problems it can handle.

      perspective

      May 4, 2013 at 7:14am

      Dear Protesters,
      Here is some shocking news for you. All the social programs you demand to feed and provide free shelter for you are funded by tax payers. People who WORK i.e. owners of Pidgin and the people who can afford to eat there.

      This country is STARVING for skilled workers and has an abundance of jobs. Have you ever considered to get one of those jobs as an option to demanding something while giving nothing in return?

      Seems like an awful lot of wasted energy to protest a small restaurant when you could be contributing to the society that provides for you?

      I know logic isnt your thing, but you need to hear it regardless.

      BTW I would never have thought of going to Pidgin, but since reading about the protests I have gone 3 times ;)

      Law

      May 4, 2013 at 7:16am

      Can someone please site the law which says says the government must provide housing to people that refuse to afford it on their own?