B.C. announces Franchises Act to come into force Feb. 1, 2017

The Franchises Regulation to the Franchises Act was publically released today, and adopted as an Order in Council on October 3, 2016.View the new Franchises Regulation, under the heading "Franchises Regulation" on the British Columbia government's "Starting a Franchise in B.C."

The Franchises Act and Franchises Regulation were modelled on the Uniform Law Conference Model Franchises Act and Regulation and adopt best practices based upon the experience of the 5 other provinces in Canada with franchise legislation.

With the adoption of the Franchises Regulation, the Franchises Act is now proclaimed to be coming into force as of February 1, 2017. The Franchises Regulation includes the following provisions:

• Risk Warnings in the same format as New Brunswick, Manitoba, and PEI
• Financial Statements (audit or review engagement) prepared in accordance with International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board are acceptable.
• Electronic Delivery, courier, and personal delivery are all acceptable methods of delivery for the Franchise Disclosure Document and Statements of Material Changes.
• If a franchisee is making an investment of at least $5 million in the franchise, the Franchisor is exempt from providing franchise disclosure to the franchisee.

Peter Snell with Gowling WLG was a Special Advisor to the Government of British Columbia and advised the Government on drafting the Franchises Act and the Franchises Regulation. Please watch for further details as well as seminars hosted by Gowling WLG to help you understand how to comply with the new legislation in British Columbia.