Introduction

One of the wonderful things about working at the university, in the world of ideas, is that ideas defy physical distance. Unlike some other contributors to this volume, I have never had the pleasure of working alongside Michael Bryan, although I have frequently had the good fortune to meet him at conferences. But even so, I can keep his ideas always close at hand. His meticulous analysis of any problem always repays careful study, and this is especially true of the particularly difficult problems that he often chooses to engage with. I have learned a lot from him, and from his ideas.

Everyone would agree that Michael Bryan is an authority on equity, and for my contribution to this volume in his honour, I have chosen a topic in that field. Although it was decided almost twenty years ago, Canson Enterprises Ltd v Boughton & Co remains the leading authority from the Supreme Court of Canada on the question of the measurement of claims for compensation against fiduciaries. The case involved a claim against a solicitor for a breach of his fiduciary obligations, but the judgment addresses the measurement of claims against trustees as well. Canson repays study not only for Canadian lawyers; it has been influential in some of the highest appellate courts of the Commonwealth.