FRANCHISE LAW
Similarly to the United States, Canada has pre-sale franchise disclosure laws in six of the 10 provinces in the country, each of which require that a "franchise disclosure document" or "FDD" be provided to a prospective franchisee at least 14 days before a franchise agreement is signed or any consideration is paid in respect of the franchise. Due to the broad application of franchise laws, certain relationships, including licensed or managed hotel arrangements, may be considered "franchises" under Canadian law, even if not so intended as such or characterised under American law. Consequences for failures or errors of disclosure include statutory misrepresentation and rescission, including the right to sue for losses. Canadian franchise laws are historically strictly construed against franchisors, with case law supporting large damage awards against hotel franchisors because of technical errors in disclosure. While the substance of disclosure is relatively similar in both countries, Canadian disclosure obligations include an overriding "materiality" concept which can require a FDD to be modified on a deal-by-deal basis to account for deal-specific facts, including, in some instances, the content of a PIP, as well as an ongoing disclosure obligations in respect of "material changes" between the provision of the FDD and the execution of a franchise agreement. Certain exemptions exist from the obligation to make disclosure, including in Ontario and British Columbia, where the acquisition of the franchise exceeds $5M.