Toronto, Corporate Canada is increasingly dedicating time and money to preparing for an influenza pandemic, as awareness of the possibility rises.

"About six months ago, there was really no concern, and I think it makes sense to be concerned," says Sherry Cooper, chief economist of BMO Nesbitt Burns and the author of some awareness-raising reports on the topic.

Robert Wilkerson, the global head of Kroll Inc.'s corporate preparedness practice, says "the financial community in Canada is almost in the lead on this, because Canada's experience with SARS was a real eye opener."

He was in Toronto late last year to give a planning workshop based on a scenario in which avian influenza, or bird flu, swept through the human population, causing a pandemic.

Air Canada (TSX:ACE.B), Dofasco Inc. (TSX:DFS), CIBC (TSX:CM), Inco Ltd. (TSX:N) and Manulife Financial (TSX:MFC) are among the companies that say they are working on a contingency plan in case of a pandemic.

Toronto-based nickel miner Inco Ltd. is "well advanced on avian flu pandemic preparedness planning at our global operations," says spokesman Steve Mitchell. "Because of its location, our Indonesian operations have been at the forefront of our site specific planning activities."

At the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors, chief executive Nick Jennery says "this is something that we started working on, pandemic specific, probably about seven, eight months ago."

The council's members represent 80 per cent of all grocery distribution sales in Canada, and more than 500,000 employees.

Jennery notes that, when it comes to contingency planning, "we're pretty good at this." The industry has dealt with trucker blockades, port strikes, and hurricanes. "What makes this a bit different is just the sheer scale of it," he says.

"An influenza pandemic will likely be prolonged -- measured in months, not weeks or days -- and it will be pervasive," she wrote.

"For most businesses, it would be prudent to take some actions immediately. Even though the probability of an influenza pandemic might be low, the consequences are enormous."

One key challenge the industry would face in the event of a pandemic is how to deal with fewer employees when truck drivers are already in short supply, Lennox said.

"This may mean dedicating trucks to haul 'essential' products such as food, medicine and fuel. It may also require some temporary adjustments to existing regulations to ensure demands can be met with available resources," he said.

In the U.S., CN has participated in a Homeland Security exercise, along with other U.S. railroads, to assess the impact on an influenza pandemic on the transportation of goods.

In Canada, CN has given public health authorities in Ontario information on the number of essential service employees it has.

Canada's pandemic influenza plan says about one million people will be deemed essential service providers for the purposes of doling out vaccines. Those people include utility workers, funeral service personnel, and people employed in public transportation and the transport of essential goods like food.

If there were an outbreak, CN says it would take direction from public health agencies about travel restrictions and would cooperate in the distribution of vaccine and antiviral drugs, but would not store or distribute medication unless recommended.

Cooper says multinational companies, which will be dealing with governments around the world, will be at the forefront of disseminating information. All firms should consider stockpiling key hygiene-related supplies, including face masks, disinfectants and hand-washing materials, she says.

"It's very important that businesses make it very clear to their employees that there will be a very liberal sick leave and family policy," she adds. "What you don't want is sick people coming to work, and the biggest reason that people would come to work is the fear of lost salary."

Cooper suggests planning for a 30 per cent reduction in workforce, which might include measures like cross-training or establishing a pool of available contract workers and retirees.

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