Quebec Court of Appeals judgement impacts franchise law in Canada - Franchisor must root out free-riders in Dunkan Donuts case  In a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeal of Québec confirmed the merits of Justice Tingley's decision and ruled in favour of the former franchisees in Québec who were suing Dunkin' Brands Canada Ltd. for incompetence, negligence, lack of support and flagrant breach of the contract entered into between the franchisor and franchisees as regards the brand's protection and development between 1995 and 2005. This ruling reduced the damages from $16,407,143 to $10,908,523. With legal interest and fees, Dunkin' Brands should be paying plaintiffs a total of $18 million. ... By denying that it has a duty to protect and enhance the brand, the judge rightly saw the Franchisor as going back on its word in each individual contract by denying the existence of the very cause of the arrangement. The Court of Appeal also confirms the franchisees' duties as regards their contractual undertaking. It adds, however, that they cannot be held liable for the shortcomings of less assiduous franchisees. What can a franchisee do about a free-rider who, for example, fails to adhere to the contractual standards of product quality or store cleanliness? Little or nothing. [85] It is up to the Franchisor to police the network by taking reasonable measures to root out the free-riders. ... '

Beyond the obligation to allow individual franchisees to use the Dunkin' Donuts system, the contracts created, through express language and by necessary implication, a duty owed to the franchisees collectively to take reasonable measures to support and enhance the brand. This included the duty to respond with reasonable measures to help the franchisees as a group to meet the market challenges of the moment and to assist the network of franchisees by enforcing the uniform standards of quality and cleanliness it holds out as critical to the success of the franchise. prnewswire.com

Canadian Retailers Applaud New Contraband Tobacco Law
The Canadian Convenience Stores Association (CCSA) is commending the federal government for its commitment to fight illegal tobacco trafficking, following the implementation of Bill C-10. The trafficking of illegal tobacco poses a serious threat to community safety in all regions of Canada, through its ties to organized crime, its link to drugs and illegal weapons trafficking, as well as its accessibility to youth. "The announcement that Bill C-10 has now been implemented represents a significant step forward in the ongoing fight against illegal tobacco trafficking in Canada," said Alex Scholten, president of the CCSA, in a press release. The CCSA has been actively working with parliamentarians and police to communicate the need for tougher penalties and additional enforcement to deter illegal tobacco trafficking. The association is hopeful that the enforcement of the new law will create an effective deterent to traffickers and make them think twice before selling illegal product. nacsonline.com

Supreme Court of Canada strikes down mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes  The Supreme Court of Canada dealt the Harper government's tough-on-crime agenda a serious blow Tuesday by striking down a law requiring mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes. The 6-3 ruling, penned by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, said the statute was unconstitutional as it upheld a 2013 Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that labeled the law cruel and unusual. The court said the mandatory minimum sentence could ensnare people with "little or no moral fault" and who pose "little or no danger to the public." It cited as, an example, a person who inherits a firearm and does not immediately get a license for the weapon. thestar.com

Apple Pay Plans to Launch in Canada This Fall
The company is in negotiations with Canada's six biggest banks about a potential November launch of the service which would enable mobile payments for both credit and debit cards using iPhones and the forthcoming Apple Watch, those people said.  wsj.com

Ontario Will Loosen Rules to Allow Beer Sales in Largest Supermarkets
Ontario, Canada's most populous province, said on Thursday that it would partly open its beer retailing system, which is dominated by three of the world's largest breweries. "The days of the monopoly are done," Kathleen Wynne, premier of the province, said at a news conference. "This is the biggest shake-up to the sale of beer in Ontario since we repealed prohibition. Ontario will allow about a third of its 1,500 largest supermarkets to sell beer by the end of the year. They will, however, not be permitted to offer anything larger than six-packs. nytimes.com

Canada Updates Credit-Card Transaction Rules - Gives Retailers Greater Control, Reflects Growing Use of Mobile Payments  Canada on Monday introduced an update to the rules governing credit-card transactions to reflect the growing use of mobile payments and to give the country's merchants additional powers in dealing with the payments industry. The changes would give merchants greater flexibility to opt out of their contracts with payment processors without penalties if fees are raised. Under the changes, merchants can refuse to accept mobile payments if the processing cost exceeds that of other forms of payments. Rules governing credit cards will be extended to apply to the growing mobile-payment field, the Canadian government said. Last November, Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. voluntarily agreed to lower the swipe fees they charged Canadian retailers, avoiding the imposition of lower fees by the Canadian government. Those changes, and the ones announced Monday, are meant to appease small-business owners and retailers who say high processing fees hurt their bottom lines. The Retail Council of Canada was a driving force behind the passage of these new transaction rules. wsj.com retailcouncil.org

Retail Fast Facts: March 2015 

Highlights:
● Total monthly retail sales changed by 0.5 per cent over the comparable month last year. 
● Total sales excluding food, automotive and gasoline changed by 3.7 per cent over the comparable month last year. Read more

Calgary smash-and-grab part of larger trend in Canada
A recent smash-and-grab jewelry theft at Calgary's Marlborough Mall could be part of a larger trend that's occurring across Canada. That's according to the John Lamont, the director of loss prevention with Jewellers Vigilance Canada (JVC), which monitors crime in the Canadian jewelry industry. He said while the recent smash-and-grab may appear blunt in nature; it was likely "quite sophisticated" as in his experience, criminals may have a buyer lined-up before the robbery even occurs. It's happened before, it's happened in B.C. and yesterday it happened in Ontario," Lamont said, touching on a similar smash-and-grab robbery in Hamilton Ont. on Tuesday. Lamont said year-over-year from 2013 to 2014, the JVC tracked a 10 per cent increase in theft due "mainly" to break and enters.  metronews.ca

Stoney Creek pharmacy robbery makes 13 so far this year  Hamilton police are looking for a suspect in the latest in a series of pharmacy robberies. A Friday afternoon robbery made 13 so far in 2015, nearly double the seven pharmacy robberies in all of last year. There have now been more pharmacy robberies in just the four months of 2015 than in any of the previous four years. The robberies aren't isolated to any one part of town. Hamilton Police published this map showing where the 13 robberies have taken place. One location, 712 Mohawk Rd. E., was targeted three times, and last month police were looking for one suspect they believe was behind all three. cbc.ca

Armed robbery at Burlington, ON bakery didn't actually happen
Police in Burlington say an armed robbery reported at a city bakery never actually happened. Towards the end of March, police said they were investigating a robbery reported at the Eastway Bake Shoppe in which a man allegedly armed with a handgun entered the business and demanded money from an employee. Police had said the employee reportedly handed over an undisclosed amount of cash before the suspect fled. Police now say their investigation has determined the robbery did not occur. The employee who reported the incident has since been arrested. Jennifer Elliott is charged with public mischief and theft under $5,000. ctvnews.ca

Someone knows this Staples suspect from Maple Ridge  A man threatened a store clerk and made off with a computer from the Staples store on the border of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows earlier this week. Ridge Meadows Mounties released this picture Tuesday. It's a surveillance image of the man believed responsible for shoplifting and for threatening the staffer just after 5 p.m. on Monday, April 13, explained RCMP Const. Amanda Harnett. "As the suspect was leaving the store, he was challenged by an employee who had witnessed the theft [of a computer]. The male threatened this employee before departing the store with the computer." mrtimes.com

Woman shocked after phone recycled at Rogers store sold on eBay
A Calgary woman was shocked to find a cellphone with her personal information for sale on eBay after she left it at a Rogers store under the impression it would be recycled. Rhonda Anderson dropped her iPhone in February, and it broke into pieces. There was still a year on her contract and so she took it to the Rogers store in Beacon Hill. Anderson says the manager sold her a new phone and she left the old one for recycling. He said Rogers has a recycling program and I said, 'Perfect.' So he lifted up a little white bin and I placed my broken phone in there." A month later she got an email from someone who bought a phone on eBay and found her personal information on it. They wanted to know if it was stolen and if she could unlock and delete the iCloud account. "It was advertised as: 'The screen is broken, phone works, it's on the Rogers network, sold as is.' I've got text messages, photos of my family...my life is on that phone," said Anderson. benzinga.com