Greater Toronto's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 94
94
( 2026)
SPONSOR CONTENT
MPAC puts a high value on employee wellness
W
hen Michelle
Lindquist
was invited
to co-host a
company-wide
webinar about menopause at the
Municipal Property Assessment
Corporation (MPAC), she didn’t
hesitate. “It’s really important
that we are providing women in
our workforce with information
to help them understand what’s
going on in their bodies,” she says.
I love coming to work,
where I not only support issues management in my role as
regional manager, but
I also get the benefit
of helping bring
awareness about how
important health is.
— Michelle Lindquist
Regional Manager
Lindquist is a keen advocate at
MPAC for women’s health and
well-being. But she didn’t always
follow her own advice and, about
10 years ago, faced health challenges. “I found myself in a place
in life where I was not happy. I was
about 20 to 25 pounds overweight.
I was very depressed and anxious.
I felt like a shell of myself.”
She decided she needed to take
care of herself. By gently introducing an exercise routine and learning about nutrition and improving
her diet, she slowly regained her
physical and mental health. Today,
Municipal Property Assessment Corporation focuses on employee wellness to ensure everyone at the
organization feels supported in serving the people of Ontario.
the regional manager aims to pay
that forward. “I want other
women to live a full and healthy
life. You know, women always put
themselves last. We’re good at
putting others first.”
Lindquist is tapping into her
employer’s strategy to deliberately
place an emphasis on employee
wellness, with a particular focus
on women’s health and men’s
mental health. “I love coming to
work, where I not only support
issues management in my role as
regional manager, but I also get
the benefit of helping bring awareness about how important health
is,” Lindquist says.
“MPAC is very much a
listening organization,” says Rupa
Aggarwal, executive director,
social impact and inclusion. In
2022, Aggarwal joined MPAC, a
not-for-profit corporation that
assesses and classifies all properties in Ontario. Headquartered
in Pickering, MPAC employs
just over 1,800 people across the
province. “We create space for
employees to feel comfortable
raising difficult issues. This is
something we grow and foster in
the organization.”
There is considerable media
attention on diversity, equity and
inclusion (DEI) in the workplace,
Aggarwal notes, especially on
companies pulling back from their
DEI commitments. But MPAC is
implementing a multi-year equity,
diversity, inclusion and anti-racism strategy and has come a long
way, she says. Just this past year,
it added “Inclusive” to its list of
values. “MPAC remains steadfast
in its focus on its people and
community,” she explains.
Describing herself as someone
who “leans in” to conversations
about difficult topics, Aggarwal
says she joined MPAC because
the organization’s focus on
people is at the forefront. “MPAC
was intentional about this
journey. It wasn’t performative,”
she says. “We create a lot of
avenues for employees to speak
up.”
These include informal
coffee chats among employees
