Expert Compensation Policy and Procedures
Date to be Reviewed: January 31, 2026
Purpose
To provide information on the policies and procedures in place for expert compensation at Canadian Cancer Society (CCS). Compensation is one method used to show recognition and appreciation of contributions.
Scope
Expert: CCS uses ‘expert’ to describe a wide range of individuals who partner with teams at CCS. This includes: patient partners (people with lived experience including patients, survivors, caregivers and families (collectively called ‘patients’ here), researchers, clinicians, implementers and decision-makers, and other subject matter experts. Compensation can only be offered to those who are not already being compensated (i.e., as part of their regular professional duties) to engage as an expert. For example, most researchers or clinicians engaging with CCS as reviewers or advisors as part of their professional service cannot be offered compensation. Some expert roles including elected officials, industry representatives, and CCS staff may not be compensated, regardless of the collaboration or activity. Some expert activities such as advocacy activities (attending cancer caucus) will also not be compensated. This is to maintain transparency and intellectual independence and reduce conflict of interest. If you are unsure of whether an individual is eligible to be offered compensation, please check with your finance team or executive leader.
By engaging people with lived experience of cancer – or ‘patients’ as we refer to this group here, we can ensure people affected by cancer shape the way that CCS activities are conducted and maximize impact on people affected by cancer. Patients bring expertise from their unique experience and knowledge gained through living with or caring for someone with a condition or illness, as well as their experiences with treatments and the health care system.
Engagement: Engagement is the provision of an individual’s expertise to a project. This expertise can be diverse – statistical, research, clinical, lived experience, and other forms of expertise are recognized. This is different from volunteering, where the provision of expertise may be valuable but may not be the primary contribution or focus of the role.
Ways to engage: There are different ways to engage, such as by informing, consulting, co-creating and leading initiatives. Engagement activities where compensation is encouraged will most often be forms of engagement such as co-creation and leadership of projects. While less involved ways to engage such as informing or providing feedback through a survey on projects may also occur, those will more commonly be viewed as volunteer activities. This is also the case for one-time activities with a total contribution time of one hour or less, which more often will be viewed as volunteer-based to reduce administrative burden (exceptions can occur). For any engagement activity with compensation, this will be described at the beginning of the activity, for instance in an introductory email or a terms of reference document.
Note: The rate and procedures may differ in instances of Indigenous recognition and acknowledgment. This Policy and Procedures document does not encompass this specialized recognition and where Indigenous partnership is being acknowledged, local customs and policies may take precedence.
Policy
Compensation procedures and the rate of compensation is to reflect choice, respect, responsiveness, and transparency. It is important to note that expertise and experts are diverse and compensation procedures should recognize this diversity, which may require the procedure to be adapted to different circumstances.
Depending on the type of activity, compensation is offered as either a fixed service income (hourly rate) or an honorarium (one-time payment); both of which can be paid in the form of cash/cash equivalent payment (i.e., cheque, gift cards) or in-kind payment (i.e., conference attendance).
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Payment Rates |
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The hourly rate of CCS in 2025/2026 is $30. For work where experts have clear leadership responsibility, $50 per hour can be offered. |
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Payment Type |
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Fixed Service Income |
An hourly or daily rate is paid to recognize expert contribution. |
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Honoraria |
A one-time lump sum payment is made for attending an event or for participating in a short-term activity. |
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Cash or Cash Equivalent |
Cash payments are offered in the form of a cheque/electronic fund transfer (EFT) or gift cards (if preferred). |
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In-Kind Payment or Gifts |
In-kind support can also be arranged, such as access to CCS webinars, events or training for free, support to cover conference registration fees, etc. |
*See Section 2.3 Payment Amounts for details on specific rates. Experts are encouraged to contact the CRA for information on taxation before accepting an offer of payment.
Procedures
- Experts should receive a copy of this policy and procedures document and have a chance to ask questions.
- Experts should discuss, fully understand and agree to the payment being offered before beginning work.
- Estimated minimum and maximum hours and responsibilities should be discussed. If any changes occur, another conversation should be held, and if necessary, payment should be adjusted.
- Re-imbursement should be discussed with each individual and provided separate from compensation.
- Experts should feel comfortable raising any concerns, suggesting their preferred forms of compensation, and refusing compensation if they so choose. Any concerns should be reviewed by their CCS staff liaison and a member of Finance and documented in a CCS confidential database.
- Experts should know that the payment received for their engagement can be subject to relevant tax laws and regulations issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), as well as the province in which they reside and can potentially impact their finances.
- All experts will have the option to waive the compensation offered. If experts waive compensation, they are still considered equal team members engaging and not volunteers.
- Experts are responsible for tracking and claiming their own hours.
- Experts will be consulted to set the frequency of payment and unless otherwise decided are asked to submit their hours every 6 months to their staff liaison.
- CCS endeavours to provide compensation in a timely manner – for instance, by asking for any hours logged to be submitted within two weeks of an engagement activity ending, and by processing payment in 5-10 business days once hours are received or once an activity has ended (if tracking of hours was not required).
- Experts will have the option to customize the type of payment they wish to receive in order to avoid any negative consequences to personal financial circumstances.
- Experts will be responsible for their own finances, and should keep the following in mind to inform their decisions regarding all offers of compensation:
- Any form of cash payment totaling $500 or more each year is considered taxable income and CCS will automatically issue a T4A for these funds, which may be considered income by the CRA. In this case experts will have to disclose their Social Insurance Number (SIN). This information will be kept confidential.
- Canada Pension Disability requires disclosure of compensation above a specific amount which varies from year to year (recently $5,500).
- Compensation may alter the benefits status for individuals on disability or pension income.
- If an expert has a registered business, they will need to charge HST/GST for any work similar to their business.
- To learn more about tax implications, visit the CRA website:
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Type of Work |
Recommended |
Other Costs to Cover |
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Consulting, Advising, Co-Creation Examples: Preparing for and attending meetings; document review; giving general feedback; participating in a project (i.e., website design, advocacy engagement); participating on a committee, council, board or advisory; acting as a facilitator; giving input on presentations or training materials (if not preparing or delivering it fully) |
$30 per hour. For work where experts have clear leadership responsibility: $50 per hour. In the event that the work requires an increment of an hour, the full hour will be compensated (i.e., 4 hours and 20 minutes are logged, then 5 hours will be compensated for). A minimum and maximum number of hours estimated for the engagement will be discussed and agreed upon in advance |
Transportation costs. Accommodation (if out-of-town). Meals per diem (if out-of-town). 3 hours of travel time will be covered for experts who spend the day before or after a meeting travelling. Any other expenses incurred related to the engagement (i.e., long distance charges, expenses incurred by caregivers taking time away from caregiving, expenses for a support person for a patient to participate). |
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Expert Reviewer Participating in research grant review as a panel member (i.e., PSC Reviewer) |
Same as above. |
Same as above. |
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Program Advisor Co-creating new or updating previous research competitions for funding |
Same as above. |
Same as above. |
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External Events Representing CCS at an external event and reporting back to CCS (i.e. CCRC conference; may include presenting); this does not include attending a CCS-organized event |
$150 for half day. $300 for full day. |
Same as above. Registration fees. |
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Leadership Decision-making; Creating and delivering new content, presentations and training (i.e., researcher training as Co-Leads), providing specialized guidance and mentorship (i.e., as PSC Lead Reviewer) |
$50 per hour in 2025 In the event that the work requires an increment of an hour, the full hour will be compensated (i.e., 4 hours and 20 minutes are logged, then 5 hours will be compensated for). A minimum and maximum number of hours estimated for the engagement will be discussed and agreed upon in advance |
Same as above. |