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 w ith respect to the development of equity

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

Commonwealth common law jurisdict ions, 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 wit h the word “equity” in the

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

understanding of equity it self, although many are wr itten 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 st ate

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 gra nting of equitable remedies in common law Ca nada,

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

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

well as practitioners who require immed iate guidance on an area of

remedial law that is becoming increasingly important.

In the following chapters, after a brief h istory of equity, the law

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

tory injunctions. This ty pe of injunction is one of the most frequently

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

they are the law’s paramed ics — a quick response to ex panding court

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