1.    PURPOSE 

1.01     This Statement of Policy and Procedure provides guidance to all employees, officers and directors on policies for records protection, retention and destruction.

2.    SCOPE

2.01     This policy applies to all employees.

3.    POLICY

3.01    MakeWay records shall be retained in compliance with applicable statutory retention requirements (Canadian Income Tax Act, commercial law, federal and provincial statutes of limitation, federal and provincial labour code and employment standards acts, Employment Insurance Act, British Columbia Societies Act). 

3.02    MakeWay shall retain records in a manner that is compliant with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”).

3.03     MakeWay records shall be retained in a manner that considers organization needs to access required information and manage risks. 

3.04     Records may be retained in either paper or electronic format. 

3.05     Records shall be stored securely and access limited to those with a valid reason for requiring access.

3.06     Records shall be retained for the retention periods specified below:

(a)     General corporate records, including all records of incorporation, bylaws, amendments to the bylaws, minutes from the meetings of the Board of Directors and all board committees, annual reports, debenture records — permanently

(b)     Legal files and papers:

①      Customer and supplier contracts and correspondence related to the terms of the contracts — seven years beyond the life of the contract

②     Papers relating to major litigation — five years after the expiration of the legal appeal period or as specified by legal counsel

③    Papers relating to minor litigation — one year after the expiration of the legal appeal period

④    Insurance policies including product liability, directors and officer’s liability, general liability and third party liability, property and crime coverage — seven years after the policy has been superseded

⑤     Documents pertaining to the purchase, sale or lease of real property — permanently

⑥    Documents pertaining to the purchase, sale or lease of fixed assets — four years longer than accounting life of the asset

(c)     Human Resources and Payroll documents:

①      Contracts of employment, all other letters related to terms of employment, attendance records, payroll history including RRSP contributions, commission and bonus history, medical information — Six years plus current year after termination of the employee

②     Job descriptions and performance assessments — Six years plus current year after termination of the employee

③    All benefits plans and related documents:

•     Original plan documents and signed forms

•     Records of pensionable employee service and eligibility

•     Associated personal information including name, address, social insurance number, pay history, pension rate

•     Six years plus current year after termination of the employee, with the exception of any documentation related to a Pension Plan which will be retained for as long as the person is alive.

④    Applications, resumes and correspondence related to individuals not hired — one year

(d)     Financial records:

①     Signed, audited financial statements and external auditors’ reports — permanently

②     Internal auditors’ reports — ten years

③     General ledgers, general journals, monthly financial statements, bank statements, cash register tapes, cancelled cheques, invoices — ten years

④    Tax returns, tax working papers, summary payroll records for tax purposes — eight years

⑤     Charitable donations records — ten years

(e)     Operations records:

①     Original patents, trademarks, copyrights — seven years after the expiration of the right

②     Customs documents — seven years

③     Annual physical inventories — permanently

④     Safety committee minutes, inspection reports and related action reports — 10 years

⑤     Catalogues and price lists — three years after superseded

⑥     Material deemed to be of historical importance to the organization — permanently

(f)     Credit card records shall be maintained in compliance with PCI data security standards.

Refer to Appendix A – Records Retention Matrix for a chart of retention periods.

3.07     Notwithstanding the foregoing, records and information that have a documented organizational purpose to be retained or to be retained for a longer period should be kept for that longer period along with the documented reason for their retention.

3.08     Records shall be destroyed at the end of their retention period as set out in paragraphs 3.06 and 3.07. Records containing personal information of clients, suppliers or employees which are not required by law, regulation or documented organizational need must be destroyed within one year of their acquisition.

4.    RESPONSIBILITY

4.01     The Executive Assistant to the CEO is responsible for the appropriate retention, protection and destruction of corporate records, legal records and human resources records according to the specifications of the policy.

4.02     The CFO is responsible for the appropriate retention, protection and destruction of financial records.

4.03     The CFO is responsible for the appropriate retention, protection and destruction of operations records.

4.04     The Director, People & Culture is responsible for the appropriate retention, protection and destruction of human resources and payroll records.

5.    DEFINITIONS 

None

6.    REFERENCES 

MakeWay Privacy Policy

http://makeway.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/MakeWay_Privacy_Policy_Jan2016.pdf

MakeWay Website Privacy Policy

http://makeway.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/MakeWay_Website_Privacy_Policy_Jan2016.pdf

009 – Statement of Policy & Procedure - Risk Management Policy

PIPEDA - https://www.priv.gc.ca/leg_c/r_o_p_e.asp

PCI Compliance Standards - https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/

British Columbia New Societies Act

 https://www.leg.bc.ca/parliamentary-business/legislation-debates-proceedings/40th-parliament/4th-session/bills/third-reading/gov24-3

Appendix A - Records Retention matrix