A Canadian Cancer & Work Charter will be launched in the near future. Initiated in 2025 by the Quebec Cancer Coalition, it will be signed in Quebec City in June during the annual conference of the Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute (CPBI).
The Coalition drew inspiration from two sources to develop this project: the work of Dr. Christine Maheu, a McGill University associate professor, Ingram School of Nursing, and Director of the Cancer and Work research program. She and her team created the Cancer and Work website cancerandwork.ca.
Dr. Maheu, RN and Phd, was a speaker on this topic at the recent Group Insurance Conference, organized by the Insurance Journal Publishing Group, held in Montreal on February 26.
Dr. Maheu led a study in collaboration with Cancer and Work co-directors Maureen Parkinson (Vocational Rehabilitation Counsellor) and Dr. Naomi Dolgoy (Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Alberta), and Eva Villalba (Quebec Cancer Coalition), in partnership with Desjardins Insurance. They published a white paper in January 2026, entitled Cancer and Work.
The other source that inspired the Coalition is the French National Charter on Cancer and Employment, which already exists in France. To date, 100 companies, representing two million employees, have signed it. These companies include Michelin, AstraZeneca, AXA, Disneyland Paris, Merck, Pfizer, and L’Oréal.
The French Charter includes 11 commitments to improve support for employees affected by cancer.
A charter that benefits insurers
“A cancer and work charter is necessary,” said Eva Villalba, Executive Director of the Coalition, in an interview with the Insurance Portal, “because employees affected by cancer have told us that practices vary from one organization to another, that there is a lack of concrete tools, and that the return to work is often improvised.”
Its creation, she adds, will also benefit insurers, who will be able to offer services and packages with better support for employees affected by cancer, whether they are patients or caregivers.
Those who innovate with service offerings for people affected by cancer, she explains, will be able to better target potential clients.
At the same time, Villalba believes that insurers will move in the direction of the needs of businesses that recognize that workplace cancer is a reality that must be addressed, especially in the context of labour shortages and as the incidence of the disease continues to rise.
According to some studies, employers see substantial savings when they invest in return-to-work programs after cancer, she says. These initiatives reduce the costs associated with recruiting and training new employees. At the same time, they boost the morale of the remaining staff, which has a positive effect on productivity.
Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute joins the project
When the Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute learned of the concept, the national organization requested to join the initiative so that the charter could be extended to the rest of the country.
“At a conference in Vancouver, I spoke about this idea of a Quebec Cancer and Work Charter,” recounts Caroline Tison, CEO of the Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute, in an interview. “Many Canadian employers responded by saying, ‘We want one too!’”
“There’s a need because cancer affects all workplaces in Canada,” she explains. “We have insurers and advisors who would be interested, and of course, employers who need tools. The charter isn’t just a commitment to pay closer attention to returning to work and ensuring that those who return stay; it will be pragmatic and concrete.”
The two organizations, the Quebec Coalition and the CPBI, are now working closely together on its development.
Changing the norm
“When workplaces implement structured support measures, employees affected by cancer are more likely to return successfully,” explains Eva Villalba.
Data shows, she says, that when employees with cancer receive adequate support, from 62% to 85% of them manage to return to work. But without a structured framework, waiting times are prolonged and can lead to departures.
“What we want is to change the norm, to make it normal to care for people at work who have had cancer, to make it less of a taboo, to allow us to talk about it, reduce uncertainty, and harmonize best practices between companies,” she adds.
The five main pillars of the charter
The future charter will be based on five main pillars:
- Retention: promoting continued employment.
- Best practices in communication.
- Accommodations: that is, having flexible measures for affected employees and adaptations to ensure a successful return to work.
- Sustainable return to work, with insurance and benefits programs and expanded coverage of the services necessary for continued employment.
- Organizational leadership: what management must consider to ensure a better return to work.
Caroline Tison sees her organization's role as that of a facilitator.
"We are here to offer our pan-Canadian network. We have the platform to bring together employers on one side and all stakeholders in the field—insurers, advisors—to discuss care, blind spots, and how to best position ourselves to encourage companies to get onboard and remain involved." Working sessions to determine the charter's content began on March 20 with insurers, while others will take place in April with employers.
"We'll have 400 people in Quebec City for our conference," says Caroline Tison. "This represents growing awareness. We're not starting from scratch, thanks to the French experience, the work of Christine Maheu, and all the expertise of the Coalition."
The official signing of the Canadian Cancer & Work Charter will take place on June 10 in Quebec City, in the presence of signatory companies. In Quebec, at the time of writing, Pfizer has already committed to joining, and Desjardins is considering it. "We are currently analyzing the opportunity to sponsor the Charter, no decision has yet been made at this stage," a spokesperson for the insurer confirmed by email to the Insurance Portal.
