Pig farmer Pickton pleads not guilty to murders

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Robert 'Willy' Pickton appeared in British Columbia's New Westminster Supreme Court on Jan. 30 and pled not guilty to the first-degree murders of 27 women linked to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside sex trade.

Sixty-eight women have disappeared from that section of Vancouver since 1991, many of them of Aboriginal descent. Investigators found DNA from 31 women on Pickton's property in Port Coquitlam, where he operated a pig-butchering business prior to being arrested four years ago.

After Pickton's not guilty plea, lawyers began the lengthy process of presenting arguments about what materials will be allowed as evidence during his trial. This stage is expected to last six months.

The trial is covered by a publication ban that prohibits reporting details of court proceedings so as not to influence jury members when the public begins to hear details beginning in the fall. If convicted of the crimes, Pickton would become Canada's worst serial killer.

As hundreds of people lined up to enter the courthouse, and supporters of the murdered and missing women gathered amid a large contingent of security, 12 First Nations people softly began to drum. As the drums warmed up and the beat grew louder, the Women's Warrior Song began, rising with the voices of those holding squares of a memorial quilt, created by people from the Downtown Eastside community to honor 90 women who have gone missing.

The morning sun streamed through the clouds, shining on the gathering. The scent of sage drifted throughout the assembly. As the Women's Warrior Song was sung, many tears of grief and sadness were shed. Mainstream media also were moved, with one national news reporter shedding tears as the scene was recorded.

"Vancouver's Downtown Eastside is the largest Indian reservation in Canada, and most of the violence in the area is against Aboriginal women," said Marlene Trick of the Carnegie Centre, who helped to organize the gathering.

"The names of the women on the memorial quilt come from the women's memorial brochure, which was started in 1991. The Downtown Eastside community felt powerless by the lack of response by the authorities to what was happening in Vancouver, and we wanted to communicate to the general public the urgency of the situation, and that the list of those missing was continuing to grow. The memorial quilt was started in the fall of 2004 and sadly continues to grow also."

She said the cost of the trial to date is $70 million, and could increase to as much as $120 million by the time it finishes.

"Today there are many more women stepping into the shoes of our missing and murdered women." She said what is needed in the community is money and resources.

"Over 75 children have been left behind by our murdered and missing women and the hurt will be felt for generations to come. These children will not have their mothers at the momentous events in their lives, such as their graduation, marriage, etc., and their children will not have a grandmother to love them. The families of our women are suffering so much. They need resources for trauma counselling, they need to be heard, to express their grief."

Trick said many Aboriginal women do not have access to resources made available to other Canadians. She said what was needed was more alcohol and drug treatment centres.

"We need strong sentences for drug dealers, who are literally getting away with murder, by selling crystal meth, heroin, crack, etc. on our streets. Just to save one woman is so important. We should never have to go through this again."

There has been severe criticism about the response of the Vancouver Police Department to tips about the missing women from the residents of the Downtown Eastside over the years. Many of the tips were never investigated.