Franc operation: opposition from SMEs of less than 50 employees

Montreal – A survey shows that 56% of small and medium business owners in Quebec are against the possibility of companies with fewer than 50 employees subjecting to the franchising process, as this could cause more red tape.

A new survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) shows that this percentage is slightly higher in the Quebec and Montreal regions and that only 34% of respondents support franchising in SMEs with fewer than 50 employees.

Francois Vincent, Vice President of Quebec at CFIB, explains that the process represents a lot of time and energy that could be devoted to developing their business.

The CFIB states that in Quebec, all companies under the jurisdiction of Quebec are subject to the French Charter regardless of the number of their employees. Mr. Vincent specifies that when it comes to applying the charter to companies with fewer than 50 employees, the problem is the franchising process, which consists of filling out and following up the forms with the Office québécois in the French language.

According to him, we will increase the administrative burden even on companies operating exclusively in the French language.

Francois Vincent also asserts that for two-thirds of SME heads, English remains essential to their business operations, in their relations with the rest of Canada and internationally, particularly with the globalization of trade. He believes that some employees have a serious advantage in English.

The survey indicates that to encourage franchising in SMEs, 40% of business leaders want the government to simplify regulatory requirements, and 35% require employees to have access to franchising cycles.

Quebec’s Minister of Justice, Simone Julien Barrett, is also the Minister Responsible for the French Language. In this capacity, a reform of the French Language Charter should soon be proposed.

The survey was conducted online March 4-31 among 781 CFIB members in Quebec. For a probability sample with an equal number of respondents, the margin of error is plus or minus 3.5%, 19 times out of 20.