TORONTO - Ontario businesses are getting a tool kit to help them prepare for a possible outbreak of influenza.
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce is making a Pandemic Planning tool kit available to its 57,000 members in hopes of keeping economic disruptions to a minimum should a pandemic occur.
Chamber president Len Crispino says the measure is not intended to be alarmist, but simply to ensure businesses are prepared.
He says Ontario businesses were unprepared for the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the blackout later that year and need to be ready for "another similar shockwave."
The tool kit includes prevention techniques to limit the spread of disease and an explanation of legislative governing staff absences during an emergency and return to work.
The kit is available to chamber members electronically or in hard copy at local Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade in Ontario.
