Franchises Update 2020

Course Chair
Tony Wilson, QC — Boughton Law Corporation, Vancouver

About the Course Chair
Tony Wilson practices franchising, licensing, and intellectual property law at Boughton Law Corporation in Vancouver. He is ranked as a leading Canadian franchise lawyer by Lexpert and Who's Who Legal, and is a member of the advisory committee to the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General respecting the new BC Franchises Act and Regulations. Tony is a Bencher of the Law Society of BC, an Adjunct Professor at SFU, and teaches Ethical Lawyering at Thompson Rivers University Law School. He is the author of two books: Manage Your Online Reputation, a book written to guide individuals and businesses on how to monitor and protect their personal and corporate reputations on social media, and Buying a Franchise in Canada. Tony is a regular law and business columnist with the Globe and Mail and writes regular columns for Bartalk magazine and Canadian Lawyer.

Faculty
Ben V. Hanuka — Law Works Law Corporation, Vancouver
Blair A. Rebane — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Judy A. Rost — Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver
Peter V. Snell — Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP, Vancouver

Click here for full faculty bios

Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:05)

45 Months Later—The BC Franchises Act (9:05 – 9:50)

It's been 45 months (and three days) since the BC Franchises Act came into force. Where are lawyers making mistakes and how can they be avoided?

• purpose of the Franchise Disclosure Document
• what must it contain?
• are the agreements in the FDD the same as the ones to be signed?
• current financial statements
• certification
• location specific information and how to disclose it?
• when to use and SMC
• 2-year rescission v. 60-day rescission remedies; when is each available?
• national disclosure documents
• where is there slam-dunk liability
• insurance issues

Ben V. Hanuka — Law Works Law Corporation, Vancouver
Blair A. Rebane — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Judy A. Rost — Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver
Peter V. Snell — Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP, Vancouver
Tony Wilson, QC — Boughton Law Corporation, Vancouver

Statutory Claims (9:50 – 10:15)

Judy A. Rost — Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver

Standards of Practice, Best Practice, and Ethics (10:15 – 10:30)

Peter V. Snell — Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (10:30 – 10:40)

Interesting Franchise Contract Provisions (10:40 – 11:20)

• reasonable business judgment
• liquidated damages instead of restrictive covenant
• "sample prototypical"
• withholding tax

Blair A. Rebane — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver

Advising Franchisees—What Should You be Doing? (11:20 – 12:05)

Tony Wilson, QC — Boughton Law Corporation, Vancouver

Franchises Legislative and Case Law Update (12:05 – 12:50)

Ben V. Hanuka — Law Works Law Corporation, Vancouver

Closing Remarks (12:50 – 1:00)