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Even as franchisors were basking in the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Raibex Canada v. ASWR Franchising, Ontario’s new minimum wage legislation – which came into force less than a month earlier – threatened a new wave of issues capable of striking at the core of franchise relationships. And as certain provinces raise the minimum wage, franchisees are cancelling paid breaks for their employees and turning to franchisors for some kind of contribution or adjustment.
Yet, the seismic changes enveloping the retail market could help the mom-and-pop operations that populate franchisees’ demographics. “Give these operations an established brand that has a well-developed franchise system and enough purchasing power, and they may very well have opportunities not only to survive but to succeed and expand,” one Toronto lawyer says.
Lexpert contributor Julius Melnitzer reports at www.lexpert.ca.
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