Private Law in Canada: A 150-Year Retrospective

This timely collection of papers reviews the development of private law in Canada since Confederation in 1867. The second title in the 150-Year Retrospective series, this book is comprised of five insightful essays – that offer a thorough and well-researched review of jurisprudential developments in various areas of private law in Canada, including property, labour and employment, contracts, wills and estates, and torts. Featuring valuable perspectives from leading authorities on the law governing private relationships in Canada, this volume is a unique contribution to Canadian scholarship.

Included in Private Law in Canada: A 150-Year Retrospective:

• The Supreme Court of Canada and the Law of Torts in which Professor Emeritus Lewis Klar "shows how the Supreme Court has become one of the most influential of apex courts in the common law world in the area of tort law"
• Property Law and the Supreme Court: Of Gardens and Fields which features Professor Bruce Ziff's thesis that the "Supreme Court's property jurisprudence is characterized by two modes of judicial praxis. One is minimalist and cautious; the other more sweeping and ambitious"
• The Supreme Court on the Relationship Between the General Law and Collective Labour Relations Regimes: 1875-2016 in which Professor Finn Makela "considers the way in which the Supreme Court of Canada's views on the relationship between general law and collective labour relations regimes developed since its inception"
• Contractual Interpretation in the Supreme Court: Confusion Reigns Supreme in which leading practitioners Angela Swan and Jakub Adamski critically examine the Supreme Court's approaches and statements on contractual interpretation
• The Supreme Court and Trusts which features Professor Matthew P. Harrington's examination of the "Court's jurisprudence in the area of constructive trusts to show how the Court has adapted traditional equitable remedies to address new social situations and expectations"

An Insightful Resource
This volume has a rightful place on the bookshelves of:

• Judges who need to reflect on jurisprudential developments for the purposes of articulating or formulating decisions
• Academics who are interested in studying the role and impact of the judiciary on the evolution of the various areas of private law
• Law libraries who need a timely review collection of Canadian legal development