Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
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However, for U.S.-based counsel who work within major franchise com- panies, Canada is viewed as generally less litigious than the U.S. Stephen Aronson is managing direc- tor and general counsel for Atlanta- based Roark Capital Group private equity fund, which recently purchased the North American Pet Valu fran- chise. He acknowledges all corporate counsel for franchises must be continu- ally aware of developments in Canada. "We, personally, feel good about our opportunities for growth in Canada," says Aronson. "But I think that fran- chisors, in general, will have to take measure in how they approach risk as, if you have a large franchise, it's hard to make all of the people happy 100 per cent of the time." Because Canada is seen as less liti- gious — although there has been a notable increase in the number of class U.S. franchises are reluctant to come into Canada. . . . The risk is disproportionate and the cost of compliance is unreasonable. PETER DILLON, Siskinds LLP actions against franchise companies — Aronson says it can usually be viewed as a growth opportunity for a franchise to open in Canada. He points to recent court decisions, based on provincial franchise legisla- tion such as Ontario's Arthur Wishart Act, in which the courts have sided with franchisees and heavily penalized franchise companies as the perceived "monopoly." However, many Canadian lawyers don't view this country as being partic- ularly favourable to franchises. David Kornhauser, a lawyer at Macdonald Sager Manis LLP in Toronto, spoke at a recent Ontario Bar Association conference on franchise developments. In his presentation, he referenced the new Franchises Act in New Brunswick that takes effect in February. It requires franchise companies to provide new or prospective franchise owners with full disclosure documents. Kornhauser also noted amendments proposed under Ontario's Arthur Wishart Act will FRANCHISE LEGISLATION IN CANADA Peter Dillon Whether you represent franchisees or franchisors, Franchise Legislation in Canada is a must-have resource for any franchise lawyer. Filled with valuable commentary, annotations and cases, this resource takes a comprehensive look at franchising from a national perspective. This looseleaf publication contains: • • • • ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY Looseleaf • $145 Subscription updates invoiced as issued (1/yr) P/C 099303000 ISSN 1923-2128 the full-text versions of all provincial franchise legislation tables of concordance to help interpret existing franchising legislation in Alberta, New Brunswick, Ontario and P.E.I. concordances which contrast Canadian and U.S. franchising legislation annotations updated to 2010 with case law and commentary including: • • U.K. and Australian case law on the topic of fair dealing invaluable expert commentary identifying problem areas, such as those introduced by the recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision in 6792341 Canada Inc. v. Dollar It Ltd. relevant court decisions from across Canada, as well as extensive U.S., canadalawbook.ca For a 30-day, no-risk evaluation call: 1.800.565.6967 Canada Law Book, a Thomson Reuters business. Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. CL1210 24 • DECEMBER 2010/JANUARY 2011 INHOUSE