750 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 80 PART 5 SEPTEMBER 2022
and had a knack of being informal or colloquial when appropriate. As he put
it, she was not rigid at all. The writer heard not a single word of concern
from anyone he contacted for their views.
Still another judge who originated in Dawson Creek said that one valuable
characteristic for a Provincial Court judge is being optimistic. Judges
deal with people at their very worst. It is not easy to see their potential and
create a path that can include hope. While Tamera has the ability of assessing
people and problems clearly, she also has a knack for encouraging people
in useful ways, and in helping people confront the challenging
dynamics they face in the justice system. This is based both on her personality,
and on having coached herself at being objective while offering empathy
at the same time.
For the reader who wants to know something interesting about Tamera,
there is her love of the Peace River region. Dawson Creek is a community
of perhaps 13,000 people on the far east of the B.C. prairies. Looking south
from Dawson, one sees a low foothill of the Rocky Mountains called Bear
Mountain. Alberta can be found 10 kilometres east of the city. Dawson
Creek is amazingly international. Perhaps 60,000 Americans start their
journey to Alaska each year at Mile Zero of the Alaska Highway. The underconstruction
Coastal Natural Gas Pipeline to Asia has its eastern terminus
in Dawson Creek. Wheat, canola, barley, cattle and other farm products are
shipped around the world from there. The area’s scenery and wildlife
attract interest from around the world. However, the community does not
grow. Even as neighbouring areas boom and urbanize, Dawson Creek keeps
its rural focus. Tamera embraces the diversity, the long comfortable summer
days and the long cold nights of winter, the interesting personalities
and the small-town flavour of the place.
A key and interesting characteristic that Tamera has is her way of
embracing things. Others live life. When Tamera gets involved in something,
she takes it to heart. One can sense when something is a special part
of her and her world. Tamera lives in a beautiful log cabin on Bear Mountain.
She embraces her special existence there, with her horse and her
acreage. Rod’s parents started Corlane Sporting Goods, offering hunting and
fishing supplies to the region. While Rod is no longer in the business, the
entire family including Tamera has embraced hunting, fishing and the outdoors.
Tamera loves the wilderness.
One judge stressed that what he and Tamera share is this love of the
wilderness, and the desire to live in the smaller and perhaps more remote
corners of our province. Tamera truly has embraced her life in this remote,
beautiful, bountiful community that is so far from the B.C. centres of power.