Trusts and Estates
Causation in trust law: Where are we now?
Where a trustee has misapplied trust property, their obligation to restore the trust asset (or its value) to the trust fund
was traditionally viewed as a strict obligation, where principles of causation played little or no part. Rules of foreseeability
and remoteness, developed largely in the context of common law tort and contract claims, were of limited importance. As McLachin
J said in Canson Enterprises Ltd v Boughton & Co (1991) 85 DLR (4th), it would be wrong to apply causal rules developed in
tort by analogy as this “overlooks the unique foundation and goals of equity”.