Franchising is a broad and important business model across Canada that has grown significantly over the past two decades. Answering to many concerns from the industry and individuals about a lack of regulation in the franchise arena, provinces across Canada began to develop detailed statutory schemes beginning in the mid-1990s.
Today, franchise legislation is in force across six provinces in Canada. Statutory regulation has fundamentally shifted both the legal and transactional aspects of the industry.
What is the book about?
Franchise Law in Canada undertakes a thorough review of the law developed to date, and looks forward to how this interesting area of law will continue to grow in the future. National in scope, the book canvasses the legislative regimes and developed case law across the common-law provinces, as well as influential cases coming from Quebec.
While similar, there are important differences in the various provincial statutory schemes. The book offers a comparative view of the key similarities and distinctions, and discusses the potential interpretive implications that arise.
Though legislation has been in force in Canada for over twenty years, there are still a number of issues that have not been fully canvased or consistently interpreted. In particular, the book considers the franchisee's right of association and the developing duty of good faith and fair dealing, in light of relatively sparse judicial discussion and analysis about what the scope and content of these rights and duties are to date.
Where does the book fit into the legal landscape?
Franchise law is part of a growing movement towards consumer protection-based laws. There are key policy rationales and objectives that underlie these statutes, which are sometimes complementary and sometimes in tension with the principles underpinning other policy-based areas of the law. The book aims to navigate these questions, and identifies issues that will be important to determine for a complete understanding and cohesive interpretation in the future.
Who is the book for?
Franchise Law in Canada aims to be the go-to resource for lawyers, judges, students, and members of the franchise industry. It is a portable, hardbound treatise, intended to be a guide through the various complex statutory requirements, including exploring definition of "franchise," the broad scope of "franchise agreements," the parties to a franchise relationship, exempt relationships and arrangements, extensive and onerous pre-contractual disclosure obligations, and the broad statutory rights and remedies.
Where can I find it?
Franchise Law in Canada is published by LexisNexis, and is available at the publisher's website, here.
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