In Subway Franchise Restaurants of Canada Ltd v. Sidhu, 2015 MBCA 101, the Court of Appeal declined to decide whether a franchise owner who had lost possession of the franchise premises for non-payment of rent was entitled to a stay of the writ of possession under s. 73(5) of The Landlord and Tenant Act, since that was not determinative of the issue. Under the tenancy, the franchisee’s right to use the premises was limited to operating a Subway sandwich shop pursuant to the franchise agreement, said the court, and the franchise agreement was terminated long before eviction proceedings were commenced. In additions, third party rights were created when a new franchisee reopened the premises.

The Customer Service Accessibility Standard Regulation, Man Reg 171/2015 under The Accessibility for Manitobans Act, CCSM c. A1.7, came into effect November 1, 2015. It requires Manitoba organizations with one or more employees that provide goods or services directly to the public or to another organization, to establish policies and practices to remove barriers for access to those goods or services. Different deadlines for compliance apply to government (within one year), the public sector (within 2 years) and private/non-profits (within 3 years). This Slaw article elaborates on the requirements.

The Competition Bureau released the final version of its Competition and Compliance Framework on November 10, 2015. The Framework updates and replaces the former Conformity Continuum information bulletin from 2000 and provides greater insight on the compliance instruments used by the Bureau today and going forward.

The federal government has published new regulations introducing an administrative monetary penalty regime under which non-compliant employers of temporary foreign workers face a range of penalties corresponding to varying degrees of non-compliance. The amendments come into force on December 1, 2015 and will apply to any violations that occur on or after that date. For further details see the regulatory impact analysis statement attached to the regulation and these articles: New Penalties in the Temporary Foreign Worker Regime and CIC’s new administrative monetary penalty regime will be effective Dec. 1, 2015 — are you ready?.

Securities regulators in Manitoba and elsewhere recently published the underlying data used to prepare CSA Multilateral Staff Notice 58-307 - Staff Review of Women on Boards and in Executive Officer Positions – Compliance with NI 58-101 Disclosure of Corporate Governance Practices.

The theme of Fillmore Riley’s most recent newsletter is privacy law, and it contains two articles on this topic: Keeping up with CASL and Recent amendments to Canada’s private-sector privacy legislation: What does it mean for your business?. Davies Governance Insights 2015 – this 140 page booklet provides a detailed overview of important trends and emerging developments in corporate governance for 2015, including board composition and compensation, gender diversity initiatives and trends, shareholder issues, board risk management, and areas of corporate law reform. Aird & Berlis LLP has recently released an updated version of their primer on Doing Business in Canada. Less comprehensive than the Blakes’ guide referred to in last month’s Business eLaw, this one is described as “a general overview of Canadian national and provincial law…intended for those planning to start, acquire or invest in a business in Canada.” Purchase & Sale of Businesses and/or Business Assets: Labour & Employment Issues – this CLE BC paper sets out a legal framework and practice tips for business sales involving labour and employment issues. Bhasin Anniversary: You Gotta Have Faith? - Nothing in the early application of Bhasin (last year’s SCC decision on duty of honesty in contractual performance) appears to be superseding established contractual interpretation principles, according to the authors of this Blakes’ article. They report that Bhasin has been considered in 85 reported decisions across Canada. Using the Manitoba limited partnership to better protect limited partners in Canada – this DLA Piper bulletin outlines how Manitoba’s limited partnership regime differs from that in other provinces and explains how to take advantage of this difference. Double trouble – this Lawyers Weekly article discusses how to identify and implement solutions to prevent, detect, and manage duplicate cheques in the new world of remote deposit capture technology. Implementation Of Trademarks Act Amendments Pushed Back To 2018 – implementation of the comprehensive changes to the Trade-Marks Act outlined in the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1 (Bill C-31) will likely not happen until 2018, according to the authors of this Canadian Trademarks blog post.

The Aboriginal Law Series continues on December 8, 2015 with a primer on Understanding Treaties. Panelists will explore the current legal framework around treaty making and treaty interpretation in Canada, navigating between pre-confederation and post-confederation treaties, modern treaties and those treaties currently being negotiated. Register now to attend in person or by tele-presentation. Note if you missed the first session in this series, Aboriginal Law 101, a DVD replay for this program has been scheduled for Monday, December 7th. Full program and registration details to be made available soon. The Law Society is bringing back popular presenter Martin Latz for two limited enrollment programs in December: GAIN THE EDGE!® Negotiation Strategies for Lawyers on December 3, 2015 and Advanced Negotiation Strategies for Lawyers on December 4, 2015.

New Tax Rules for Testamentary Trusts – Speaker Johanna Caithness will discuss soon to be implemented Income Tax changes affecting trusts at this Wills and Estates section program on November 27, 2015, from noon to 1:30 pm at the Law Society classroom. She will focus on the removal of graduated rates for testamentary trusts and the implementation of the "graduated rate estate," changes to the taxation of spousal, joint spousal, alter ego and self-benefit trusts, and the new rules with respect to charitable donations on death. The "ins" and "outs" of real property mortgage realization - Doug Christie will discuss the current law and procedures relating to mortgage secured debt collection at this Real Property Law section program on December 2, 2015. The program will run from 5:00 – 6:30 pm at the Pitblado LLP boardroom. Joint Session With MAIRP – the Bankruptcy and Insolvency section is hosting this joint session on multi-purpose mortgages, equitable mortgages in bankruptcy, and cross-border insolvency update on December 2, 2015, from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at the Blackstone Lounge, Taylor McCaffrey LLP.

The MBA’s 2016 Mid-Winter Conference will take place January 21-23, 2016 at the Fairmont Hotel.  Continuing professional development sessions of interest to solicitors include: Structuring and Attacking Life/Joint Tenancies, Use of Bare Trusts for Real Estates and Other Property Dealings and Anatomy of a Purchase.