ESS-001 — Records Retention Standard

Contents

• 1. Purpose
• 2. Core Rule
• 3. Retention Categories
• 4. Retention Triggers
• 5. Disposition Controls
• 6. Register Requirements
• 7. Exceptions and Escalation
• 8. Initial Application
• 9. Review and Amendment
• 10. Related Documents

1. Purpose

This standard establishes the minimum retention approach for records governed through this repository. It is intended to preserve legally significant evidence, support tax and regulatory compliance, protect institutional memory, and avoid premature disposal. This document is an internal governance standard; it does not replace advice from a Canadian lawyer, CPA, tax professional, records-management specialist, or government authority where professional interpretation is required.

2. Core Rule

Ezzi Clarity will retain corporate records for a minimum of seven years unless legislation, regulation, contract, litigation risk, corporate governance, historical significance, or another documented requirement calls for a longer period.

Seven years is the default floor, not an automatic destruction date.

3. Retention Categories

4. Retention Triggers

Common triggers: the end of the applicable fiscal or tax year; the completion or termination of a contract; the closing of an account; the superseding of a policy; the completion of an audit or dispute; formal dissolution of the corporation; or never, for permanent records. Where the correct trigger is uncertain, retention defaults to the longer reasonable period until confirmed.

5. Disposition Controls

No record may be destroyed merely because its nominal retention period has elapsed. Before disposition, confirm: the record is not Permanent/Historical-Permanent/Life-of-Corporation; the retention period and disposal trigger have both been satisfied; no audit, tax review, investigation, dispute, litigation, insurance matter, contractual duty, or legal hold applies; no professional advisor has instructed longer retention; the disposition is documented in the relevant register; and disposal is approved by an authorized custodian.

6. Corporate Records Register Requirements

Each accepted record should carry, at minimum: Record ID; title; classification; status and disposition; authority and jurisdiction; associated date; repository location; retention category; disposal trigger; verification state; and purpose/notes. See registers/corporate-records-register.md.

7. Exceptions and Escalation

When legal, tax, regulatory, contractual, privacy, employment, insurance, or cross-border requirements conflict with this standard, the more conservative or authoritative requirement governs. Uncertainty should be recorded and escalated to an appropriate Canadian professional rather than resolved through assumption.

8. Initial Application

The founding records CR-1001 through CR-1008 are classified as Permanent. CR-9001, the historical C11 business plan, is classified as Historical — Permanent. CR-9002, the C11 immigration case docket, is classified as Contractual/Legal Hold pending confirmation that the withdrawal is finalized, at which point it should be reclassified per §4.

9. Review and Amendment

Changes to this standard must be Issue-linked, reviewed through a pull request, and recorded in governance/changelog.md.

10. Related Documents

• governance/constitution.md
• standards/ess-008-issue-and-change-audit.md
• registers/corporate-records-register.md
• governance/changelog.md