- CANADIAN FRANCHISE ASSOCIATION

Policies, Terms & Conditions

The following policies, terms and conditions apply to all CFA produced events (in-person and virtual).

EVENT ATTENDANCE ELIGIBILITY

Condition of Membership in Good Standing: All CFA member event participants must be in good financial standing with the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA). The CFA has the right to exclude companies and individuals with outstanding account balances.
Pending CFA Member Applications: Event registrations and exhibition bookings will be processed for payment at the member rate. If a CFA membership is deferred and as a result your company is unable to exhibit at the CFA event, including the Franchise Canada Show and the CFA National Convention, payments made towards the booking agreement will be refunded. A 25% administration fee may be applied.
Event Attendance for Non-Members: The CFA reserves the exclusive right to restrict event registration and deny entry to non-members at its discretion. Non-members may be denied participation in the event without further explanation or recourse.
Event Payment: All registrations, sponsorships, and exhibit space bookings must be paid in full prior to the event. All prices are in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated. GST/HST Registration Number 12297 2920 RT0001.

EVENT PROGRAMMING

Endorsement and Educational Disclaimer: The CFA does not endorse speakers, presenters, facilitators, and/or exhibiting companies at CFA events. Attendees are responsible to perform their own due diligence. Information obtained at CFA events, such as the Franchise Canada Show, should not be construed as legal advice. If legal or other professional advice is required, the services of a professional should be sought. The information provided at CFA events is intended only as general information.
Changes to Event Programming: The CFA reserves the right to make necessary changes to the program of the event. Every effort will be made to keep the presentations and speakers as represented. However, unforeseen circumstances may result in the substitution or cancellation of the event, presentation topic or speaker.
Changes to Event Design: Agendas, floorplans, room setups, and space layout are subject to change.

CFA EVENTS CODE OF CONDUCT

The Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) is committed to providing a safe, positive, and enjoyable event experience for all participants including, but not limited to, attendees, speakers, presenters, hosts, sponsors, volunteers, vendors, and CFA staff.

Our goal is to create an inclusive environment that is harassment-free and where everyone feels welcome to participate, speak up, ask questions, and engage in discussion with other members of the CFA community. We do not tolerate harassment of event participants in any form during events, whether in-person or virtual.

All event participants are required to adhere to the following Code of Conduct. Event organizers will enforce this Code throughout the event entirety. Violations of the Code of Conduct may result in expulsion from the event and legal actions. Prior to any CFA event, all participants are expected to be familiar with this policy.

Code of Conduct: All CFA event participants agree to have read, understood, and comply with the following guidelines below when participating in a CFA event (virtual or live).

Expected Behaviour:

Be respectful to other event participants and remember that everyone has the right to enjoy CFA events without fear of harassment, discrimination, or condescension, whether blatant or through micro-aggressions.
Exercise consideration and respect in your speech and actions. Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behaviour and speech. All forms of communication should not demean others. Consider what you are saying and how it would feel if it were said to you or about you.

Attempt collaboration before conflict.
Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants. Alert CFA staff if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this Code of Conduct, even if they seem inconsequential.
During any virtual or live event no participant should engage in harassment in any form.
Do not disrupt the virtual meeting (e.g., “zoom-bombing”) or engage in harm or threats of harm of any kind. Do not create/contribute to a safety threat or unsafe or exclusionary situation.
Do not make audio or visual recordings of the Virtual Meeting in any medium—and do not distribute audio or visual recordings of the Virtual Meeting (via social media or any other means). Only the CFA or its representatives may do so.
Do not take or distribute pictures of or copy research posters/presentation materials unless explicit permission is granted.
Speak up if you see or hear something. Harassment is not tolerated, and you are empowered to politely engage when you or others are disrespected. The person making you feel uncomfortable may not be aware of what they are doing, and politely bringing their behaviour to their attention is encouraged. Participants violating Code of Conduct may be expelled from an event without a refund at the discretion of the CFA. Participants asked to stop any harassing behaviour are expected to comply immediately.

Reporting an incident: If you see, overhear, or experience a violation of the Code of Conduct during a live or virtual event, and would like to report a violation, please contact a CFA staff onsite or email us at events@cfa.ca.

LIVE EVENTS COVID-19 POLICY AND PROTOCOLS

The CFA wants to ensure a safe environment that helps protect our live event attendees and staff from COVID-19. The CFA’s Live Events COVID-19 policy and requirements is based on the following principles:

Ensuring the health and safety of our attendees and staff;
Ensuring we are doing what we can to reduce the chances of our attendees and staff, or a member of their family, from contracting COVID-19; and
Ensuring that the CFA meets or exceeds public health directives and guidelines.

Vaccine Guidelines

All attendees are strongly recommended to have full vaccination, medical exemption signed by a medical professional licensed to practice medicine in Canada, or proof of negative COVID-19 antigen test prior to or upon their arrival at the event.

Masking Guidelines

All attendees are strongly encouraged to wear a mask at all times during the event, unless you are seated or standing while having a beverage or food in accordance with public health guidelines.

A mask should:

Securely cover the nose and mouth.
Fit closely to the face without gaps.

Fit securely to the head with ties or ear loops.
Maintain their shape after washing and drying.
Be made of at least two layers of tightly woven material (such as cotton or linen); and
Be large enough to cover the nose and mouth completely and comfortably without gaping.

Guidelines to Protect the Community
We ask all attendees to stay home if they are ill and to not enter the venue if they are experiencing any of the following symptoms: fever or chills, an unexplained cough, and/or shortness of breath, and/or or loss of smell and taste.

We encourage all attendees to:

Wash their hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
Avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
Practice social distancing during the live event
Cover their cough or sneeze with a tissue or sleeve/arm

Assumption of Risk

COVID-19 remains a highly transmissible disease and a threat to our local health and safety.

All event attendees acknowledge that despite all preventative measures that are put in place by the venue and the event hosts, there is still an inherent risk of exposure to illness that exists in any public place where people are present. All event attendees voluntarily assume such risk for attendance at any CFA event (e.g. CFA Golf Tournaments, Meet & Greets, CFA Law Day, CFA National Convention, Franchise Canada Shows, etc.).

These COVID-19 policies and guidelines are subject to change based on current public health guidelines and regulations.

EVENT CANCELLATION

Registration Cancellation: Cancellations must be in writing and sent to CFA 60 days before the event. A 25% administration fee will be levied.
Registration Late Cancellation: Cancellations made 59 days or less prior to the event will not be eligible for refunds, however, the CFA will extend a credit towards another event. The registration may be transferred to another individual from the same company.
Event Cancellation: The CFA reserves the right to cancel any CFA event for any reason. In the event of a cancellation, liability will be limited to the return of all payments made to the CFA for registration, exhibit space, and/or sponsorship of the cancelled event without interest. In case of cancellation, attendees may transfer any payments made towards the cancelled event to another CFA event, product or service, or suggest alternative fund allocation, subject to mutual agreement with CFA.
Event Postponement: The CFA reserves the right to postpone any CFA event for any reason. If the event is postponed, all payments made to the CFA for the postponed event will be transferred to the rescheduled event.

EXHIBITOR TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Exhibit Space Allocation

CFA Discretion: CFA holds the authority to approve or deny requests from companies wishing to exhibit at the show.
Exhibit Space Assignment: While CFA strives to honour space requests, it reserves the right to reassign booth locations at its discretion.
Exhibit Space Exclusivity: Each exhibit space is designated for the exclusive use of the company that has booked it. It is strictly prohibited for any other companies or brands to exhibit within the same space allocated to the booking company, unless authorized differently by CFA.
Non-Transferable Exhibit Space: Exhibitors are prohibited from reselling or subletting their assigned booth space.
Floorplan Changes: Floorplans for the Franchise Canada Show are subject to modification, and the CFA may require exhibitor relocation and/or reject exhibitor relocation requests.
Space Limits: Exhibitors must stay within rented space, not obstructing aisles, passageways, or overhead areas.
Visibility: Exhibitors must not obstruct sightlines of other exhibitors.
Food and Beverage: Serving, dispensing, or selling food, beverages, or products requires CFA and venue consent.
Liability: Exhibitors are responsible for any damage to the venue or other exhibitors’ property.
Employee and Personnel Responsibility: Exhibitors are responsible for their employees, contractors, agents, and sales professionals during the show. Exhibitors must have qualified personnel at their booth during the show.

Payment for Exhibit Space

Payment Timing: Payment for all registrations, sponsorships, and exhibit space bookings must be received by the CFA in full at time of booking.
First-Come, First-Served: Booth assignments are on a first-come, first-served basis.
Condition of Membership in Good Standing: All CFA member event participants must be in good financial standing with the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA). The CFA has the right to exclude companies and individuals with outstanding account balances. All registrations, sponsorships, exhibit space, as well as membership renewal, must be paid in full at time of booking.
Late Bookings: Bookings made within 5 business days of the event may be subject to pay a late booking administration fee.

Exhibitor Contract Cancellation

CFA’s Right to Cancel: CFA may cancel this contract if an exhibitor’s actions are deemed unethical at CFA’s absolute discretion.
Cancellation Charges: In the event of CFA-initiated contract cancellation, 50% of booth space cost may be withheld for administrative purposes.
Cancellation During Show: If CFA cancels during the event due to unethical behaviour, no refund will be issued.
Offensive Behaviour: Exhibitors displaying offensive behaviour or who violate CFA’s Code of Conduct may be removed without refund.
Show Cancellation: In case of show cancellation, CFA will collaborate with exhibitors on fund allocation.
Exhibitor Cancellation of Space Booking: In the event that an exhibiting company cancels or withdraws their booth space booking, the following conditions apply:
- Cancellation 60 days or more, prior to the event: Cancellations must be in writing and sent to CFA at least 60 days before the event. A 25% administration fee will be levied.
- Cancellation 59 days or less prior to the event: No refunds will be granted, however, a credit may be transferred to another CFA event, product or service (except for CFA membership dues). The CFA is open to an alternative, mutually agreed upon, fund allocation.

Move-In & Move-Out

Notification: Specific move-in/move-out dates will be communicated closer to the event.
Check-In: Prior to moving in, exhibitors must check in with CFA staff.
Responsibility: The CFA is not responsible for refunds if exhibitor goods, properties, or displays are not received at the venue.
Booth Setup: Exhibitors are solely responsible for booth set up and all costs associated, including materials, labour, travel and accommodation, and any additional services required.
Timely Setup: Exhibitors must set up before the show opens to the public.
Show Hour Activities: No exhibitor is allowed to relocate, dismantle, or set up booths during show hours without the CFA’s consent.
Move-Out Timing: Dismantling or moving out items is only permitted after the show floor closes to the public.
Booth Materials Removal: Exhibitors are solely responsible for removal and shipping of booth materials, and all costs associated during tear down, including but not limited to dismantling, storage, or disposal of materials or equipment used in the booth.
Property Removal: Failure to remove property by the deadline may result in charges for storage. The CFA will not assume any financial responsibility for these setup and removal costs

Insurance

Exhibition Insurance: Exhibitors are responsible for insuring their goods and must provide proof of insurance before exhibiting.
Insurance Deadline: Proof of insurance is due seven days before the event’s move-in day.
Liability: The CFA, its officers, employees, or agents are not liable for personal or property loss, theft, damage, or injury.
Indemnification: Exhibitors must indemnify CFA against claims arising from their actions during the show.

Electrical, Lighting, and Furnishing Supplies

Electrical and Lighting Ordering: Electrical supplies and services must be ordered through the Electrical Contractor, complying with regulations.
Additional Equipment: The CFA may provide vendor suggestions for additional equipment needs.

Regulations

Compliance with Building, Fire, Health & Safety, and Legal Requirements: Exhibitors agree to comply with show building, fire, health and safety guidelines, and all applicable laws, obtaining necessary permits. Failure to comply may result in removal from the show without refund.
Alcohol and Controlled Substances: The sale and distribution of alcohol and controlled substances by exhibitors and attendees on the premises are strictly prohibited.
Union Guidelines: All exhibitors at CFA events must adhere to any union guidelines affiliated and connected with the venue.

Building & Security

Damages: Exhibitors are responsible for damages to allocated space, floors, and aisles.
Signage: Exhibitors cannot display signs, advertisements, or posters outside the premises without CFA’s consent.
Security Measures: the CFA aims to maintain 24-hour security during the show but is not liable for theft during any show period.
Noise Control: CFA may limit or discontinue inappropriate noise or music, respecting fellow exhibitors’ needs.

Media and Other

Copyright Compliance: Copyrighted works require permission for usage during the show.
Advertising, Sponsorship, and Marketing: All exhibitors and sponsors must adhere to the principles set forth in the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards and assume responsibility for content(s), in whole and in part, of any advertising, sponsorship, and marketing material they provide for the event.
CFA Photography: The CFA may take photos of exhibitor spaces and personnel for archival and promotional purposes without compensation.

Additional Rules and Regulations

Policy Changes: The CFA reserves the right to amend these policies, terms and conditions at any time.
Attendee Representation: The CFA does not guarantee attendee or visitor numbers.

Questions: If you have any questions in regards to these policies, terms and conditions, please contact the CFA Events team at events@cfa.ca

POLICIES, TERMS & CONDITIONS UPDATED: December 18, 2023