Foreword To the First Edition

• Author: Eileen E. Gillese
• Profession: Court of Appeal for Ontario Toronto, Ontario
• Pages: 27-28

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FOR EWORD

To the First Edition

Pension law is fascinat ing. At a human level, its impact on a rapidly

aging population cannot be overestimated. At a legal level, the chal-

lenge posed by issues in the f‌ield of pension law is unparalleled. Two

factors contribute to this cha llenge.

First, as a newly emerging area of law, its structure is not fully

established. Until th at occurs, the predictability one needs and expect s

from the legal system cannot be had. The task of putting structure into

this area is made more dicult by the fact that pen sion law is the inter-

section of a number of areas of law including contracts, trusts, labour

and employment, f‌iduciaries, and the Charter, all made more compli-

cated by an overlay of statutory regulat ion.

Second, pension law requires a per son to analyze any given issue

from two very dierent perspectives. On the one hand, pension law

issues must be understood from a broad theoretic al perspective. On the

other hand, no understanding will be complete or accurate without a

descent into a morass of complicated, often-conf‌licting, detail.

Even a brief consideration of these factors expla ins the burning

need for a single text on pension law to which one can tur n for educa-

tion and assista nce. Until now, there has been no such text. A ri Kaplan’s

Pension Law f‌ills the void.

Ari Kaplan ha s written a book that provides a framework within

which to understand pension law. It is balanced and comprehensive

in its treatment of the is sues. But, in addition, the book explain s and

explores the detailed considerat ions that underlie each issue. An