580 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 80 PART 4 JULY 2022
she has earned the respect and friendship of her legal opponents, many of
whom are here today to congratulate her and share in the general goodwill
generated by her appointment. Those of us who know her have witnessed
her honesty, her empathy for others and her strong work ethic … I know
that while Maris will always take her role seriously, she will never take herself
too seriously, and because of her humility and good humour, she will
be a great judge.”
During her years as a judge of the Provincial Court (which she believed
was the best job in the world), Maris was beloved by all in Drug Treatment
Court (“DTC”). Her understanding of the human condition and her empathy
for those who came before the DTC were often exemplified by having Roy
appear with trays of healthy foods for the participants, making sure that
they had some nourishment before they went back out into the world.
She was also a leader and mentor in the UBC Externship Program, a past
president of the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges and a
member of Judicial Council. Not surprisingly, she was a gifted writer and
wrote many legal decisions, with great and lengthy attention to evidentiary
detail and the law. One of her colleagues unwittingly referred to her canvass
of the law, in one judgment, as exhausting rather than exhaustive.
When he told her this on one of his frequent appearances at her home,
Maris laughed and poured him a large cognac.
To Roy, she was “Miss Fluffy”, an appellation given to her on one of their
many adventures. They ventured off in their Cessna floatplane (call sign
“C-FIDL”, so Maris dubbed it “Fiddle”), flying up and down the coast and to
locations throughout the United States. There were also the expeditions
from Vancouver up to the Yukon, across the Northwest Territories and
Nunavut to Baffin Island while swatting giant mosquitos and buying Inuit
art along the way. Such was her faith in Roy, her “Prince”, that she continued
to fly with him even after a “fuel issue” arose while hundreds of feet up
in the air with only a small pot lake to land on some distance away.
Eventually, flying gave way to ocean adventures on their beloved cabin
cruiser M.V. Aloha. Roy was raised on boats, but Maris had no experience
with tides, marine weather or docking in close quarters; however, she took
to boating with enthusiasm. Thankfully, Roy was an excellent teacher, and
Maris a devoted student. It came in handy when, on one coastal exploration,
Roy was injured while underway in inclement weather and Maris
had to assume the helm, summon the Coast Guard for assistance on the
high seas and bring Aloha into port on her own.
They shared their Aloha adventures with many friends and family, showing
them placid coastal coves with friendly resident seals to anchor for the
night, where the best crabbing and prawning locations were, and where to