Preface

• Pages: 9-10

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Preface

Tyears in the making and over the course of that

period we have accumulated many debts of gratitude.

This project was modelled on an earlier Osgoode Society collection, Work

on TrialCanadian Labour Law Struggles, which in turn was inspired by an

American series of works devoted to the underlying history of leading cases

invariouseldsAssemblingacollectionofCanadianpropertylawmicro

historieswasthebrainchildofEricTuckerwhocoeditedthelabourlawcol

lection (along with Judy Fudge). The lessons from that endeavour were of great

benetintheconceptualizationdevelopmentandcompletionofthisbook

This was both an individual and collective project. The editors compiled

a list of potential case studies, but the authors were given considerable scope

intheselectionofcasesandthemannerofinquiryInJunecontributors

tothevolumemetattheUniversityofAlbertainEdmontonforatwoday

intensive workshop. Major funding for this event was provided by a grant

awarded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Can

ada. The Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta provided additional

nancialsupportasdidtheOsgoodeSocietyandOsgoodeHallLawSchool

During the workshop sessions, draft chapters were ci rculated, presented,

and critiqued, and plans for the project as a whole were discussed. The

papers were presented not by the authors, but rather by commentators. Most

were graduate students in law or history; several were undergraduates; some

members of law faculties. We are grateful to all of those who assumed this