On May 13, 2015, Carole James, a provincial member of parliament in British Columbia, introduced a private members' bill proposing a Franchise Act for British Columbia. Ms. James is a member of the New Democratic Party (NDP). The NDP is not in power at the moment and acts as the opposition party to the current ruling Liberal party.
As this proposed Franchise Act has been introduced by the opposition NDP, it is unlikely to advance to a second reading, and therefore not likely to proceed any further towards becoming law. It is the government that determines further debate on private members' bills, and currently a second reading of the proposed act is not on the agenda for future debate.
However, while this private members' bill is unlikely to proceed, we are aware that the Attorney General's office is reviewing the potential introduction of franchise legislation based upon the British Columbia Law Institute (BCLI) report from 2013, which recommended franchise legislation for British Columbia. At this time, it is anticipated that no legislation will be introduced by the government until at least the fall of 2015, with the earliest it would come into force being at some point in 2016.
If franchise legislation is enacted in British Columbia, British Columbia would be the 6th province in Canada to regulate franchising, following the provinces of Ontario, Alberta, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Manitoba.
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