Preface to the First Edition

• Author: Jeffrey Berryman
• Pages: 23-25

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PREFACE

to the First Edition

The path taken by Canada with respect to the development of equity

and equitable remedies has been quite different from that trod by other

Commonwealth common law jurisdictions, most notably the United

Kingdom, Australia, and New Zea land. In those countries one will f‌ind

an active scholarship on the role of equity, and in most law schools

a compulsory course can be found with the word “equity” in the

title. In Canada, however, there are few modern texts devoted to the

understanding of equity itself, although many are written on aspects

of equity’s progeny, and it is more than likely that a law student will

graduate without being exposed to any systematic study of the law of

equity or even equitable remedies. This is not to suggest that this state

of affairs is necessarily bad, but simply to record an obser vation.

This book has been written to provide a quick reference to the law

that governs the granting of equitable remedies in common law Canada,

and will form a companion to Jamie Cassels’ book on common law

remedies. It is written to assist law students in their legal studies as

well as practitioners who require immediate guidance on an area of

remedial law that is becoming increasingly important.

In the following chapters, after a brief history of equity, the law

relating to specif‌ic equit able remedies is detailed st arting with interlocu-

tory injunctions. This type of injunction is one of the most frequently

sought equitable remedies. Available practically at any time of the day,

they are the law’s paramedics — a quick response to expanding court

dockets, complex multi-party litigation, and a remedy of choice giving