A new fiscal or calendar year is a great time for franchisors to think about what updates their Canadian franchise disclosure document (FDD) might need. If you have resales or renewals quickly approaching or you want to offer franchises in any of the Canadian provinces that require disclosure, it's critical that your FDD is accurate, up-to-date, and conforms to every provincial franchise law that applies. This includes any prescribed disclosure items, which may have differing required update time frames, and confirming that your FDD has all the material facts.
Naturally, a new year also is a great time for franchisors to begin updating all their franchise documentation and ensuring it complies with all current franchise laws. Right now, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia and Alberta all have franchise laws on the books, and it's also vital that you stay on top of any changes to those laws. Ontario, for example, recently amended its legislation regarding disclosure by franchisors. Once specific provisions of the Arthur Wishart Act are in effect, franchisors will be allowed to enter into some types of non-disclosure agreements with their franchisees without giving them the franchise disclosure documents, and the disclosure exemptions are also changing under the act.
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