In July, Peel Regional Police recovered nearly $800,000 in stolen computer equipment and commercial vehicles in Brampton. The cargo, according to Peel police, came from two separate thefts on July 17 and July 20, and was found on July 22 during a follow-up into a different stolen trailer. FreightWaves later reported the suspects had posed as a legitimate carrier.

Think about the timeline from the shipper’s side. A load leaves the dock. Days pass before anyone realizes it never arrived. By the time investigators ask for gate and dock footage, how much is still on the recorder?

For a lot of industrial sites, the honest answer is “less than we thought.” Retention is one of the most overlooked settings in an industrial CCTV system, and one of the most consequential.

Why Does Footage Retention Matter So Much for Industrial Operators?

Losses at large sites are often discovered late. Fraudulent pickups, internal theft, slow-developing equipment damage and slip-and-fall claims can all surface days, weeks or months after the event.

If footage has already been overwritten, you lose more than evidence. You lose the ability to defend against a liability claim, to support an insurance claim, to back up a disciplinary decision, or to show a Ministry of Labour inspector what happened. Insurers and adjusters notice when a site cannot produce video.

At the same time, keeping everything forever is not the answer. It is expensive, and Canadian privacy guidance is clear that recordings should not be kept longer than needed.

What Do Canadian Privacy Rules Say About Keeping Video?

Most Ontario private-sector industrial operators fall under the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) for commercial activity. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s guidelines say recordings should be kept only as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose of the surveillance, then destroyed securely. They also recommend a written video surveillance policy covering retention, access, disclosure and disposal.

Guidance summarized by BC’s Freedom of Information and Privacy Association adds a key nuance: if a recording was used to make a decision about an individual, it should be kept for at least one year so that person can request access. Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner takes a similar approach for public institutions, recommending routine erasure of unused footage on a set schedule tied to how long it reasonably takes to discover an incident, and at least one year of retention for footage that has been used.

On the employment side, Ontario employers with 25 or more employees must maintain a written policy on electronic monitoring that describes how and in what circumstances they monitor employees and for what purposes. CCTV is part of that.

None of this sets a single magic number. It does give you a framework. This article is general information, not legal advice; involve your privacy counsel when you finalize a policy.

How Should a CCTV Footage Retention Policy for Ontario Industrial Sites Be Structured?

The most practical CCTV footage retention policy for Ontario industrial sites uses tiers rather than one setting for every camera.

Tier 1: Routine footage (30 to 90 days). Unremarkable recordings are kept for a fixed period, then overwritten automatically. Base the number on your realistic discovery window. A rail yard that reconciles car inventory weekly might choose 30 days. A distribution centre shipping high-value freight with long claim windows might choose 60 to 90 days for gates and docks.

Tier 2: Higher-risk zones (longer routine retention). Gates, dock doors, high-value storage, fuel areas and perimeter cameras often justify longer retention than break rooms or office corridors. Retention can, and usually should, vary by camera.

Tier 3: Incident footage (preserved on flag). When an incident is reported, the relevant clips are exported, logged and preserved outside the rolling buffer. Keep at least one year if the footage is used in a decision about a person, and longer if a claim, prosecution or Ministry of Labour matter is open.

Tier 4: Legal hold. When litigation or a regulatory investigation is reasonably anticipated, suspend deletion for relevant footage until counsel releases it.

Document who can view, export and delete footage, and keep an access log. When the inevitable question comes, “who looked at this clip and when?”, you want an answer.

How Much Storage Does Longer Retention Actually Need?

This is where good intentions run into hardware. Here is a rough worked example, assuming 4-megapixel cameras recording continuously with H.265 compression at about 4 megabits per second:

• One camera produces roughly 43 GB per day.

• A 64-camera system produces roughly 2.8 TB per day.

• 30 days of retention needs roughly 83 TB of usable storage.

• 90 days needs roughly 250 TB.

Your actual numbers will vary widely with resolution, frame rate, scene activity and compression. But the math explains why so many sites quietly drift to 10 or 14 days: the recorder fills up and someone shortens retention to make the alarms stop.

There are smarter options. Motion- or analytics-triggered recording at higher quality, combined with lower-quality continuous recording, can cut storage dramatically. Tiered storage, keeping recent footage on the NVR and older footage on a secondary array, keeps costs manageable. Smart codecs reduce bitrate on static scenes, which is most of a yard at 3 a.m.

How Does Retention Tie Back to Insurance and Claims?

When underwriters assess an industrial risk, they increasingly ask about surveillance: coverage, monitoring and how long footage is kept. A documented retention policy, tested export process and evidence that the system actually works are stronger than a line on an application saying “CCTV installed.”

After a loss, the ability to produce clear, timestamped, unaltered footage with a chain-of-custody record helps your claim move faster and reduces disputes. For liability claims, such as a contractor alleging an injury on your property, footage is often the only objective evidence available.

ForceVision designs industrial NVR platforms with retention planned around each site’s risk profile and discovery windows, not whatever fits on the default hard drive. If you would like us to review your current retention settings against your actual risks, we are happy to run a no-pressure assessment.

The Takeaway

Pick three cameras today: your main gate, your busiest dock door and your highest-value storage area. Check how many days of footage each one actually holds right now, and compare that to how long it typically takes your team to discover a loss. If the footage expires first, your CCTV footage retention policy for Ontario industrial sites needs attention before your next claim does.

FAQ

Q: Is there a legal minimum retention period for private-sector CCTV in Ontario?
A: There is no single statutory number for routine footage. Privacy guidance says to keep recordings only as long as needed, and to keep footage used to make decisions about individuals for at least one year. Confirm with privacy counsel.

Q: How long do most industrial sites keep footage?
A: Many keep 30 to 90 days of routine footage, with longer periods for high-risk cameras and indefinite preservation of flagged incidents until related matters are closed.

Q: Will longer retention lower my insurance premium?
A: Not automatically, but a documented retention and export policy strengthens your risk profile with underwriters and makes claims faster and less disputed.

Q: What is the cheapest way to extend retention on a 64-camera system?
A: Combine smart codecs, analytics-triggered high-quality recording and tiered storage. These usually extend retention more cost-effectively than simply adding drives.