Many Canadian companies will take a low-key approach to commemorate the lives lost a year ago in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Most companies contacted said they were planning a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. EST on Wednesday. A few will hold a short memorial service; some will lay wreaths in their office lobbies or trading floors.

"We want to be very sensitive to the families involved," said Kim Hanson, a spokeswoman for investment dealer BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., of Toronto. "We'll certainly be discreet."

BMO lost one of its Canadian employees, David Barkway, when the World Trade Center collapsed. The 34-year-old managing director in the capital markets group was in the north tower when the attack occurred. He is survived by his wife, who was pregnant at the time, and a 2½-year-old son. His second son was born four months later, and was named after him.

BMO plans a minute of silence on its trading floors in Toronto and New York marking the moment the first plane struck the north tower of the WTC, and another marking the moment the north tower collapsed. BMO will also lay a wreath in Mr. Barkway's name in its Toronto trading floor. It has dedicated a conference room and a putting green to Mr. Barkway's memory, and has set up a trust fund for his children.

At the Toronto Stock Exchange, names of the 25 Canadians killed in the attack will be read at a commemorative service on Wednesday, said TSX spokesman Steve Kee. A service from 8:30 to 8:46 a.m. will be followed by a moment of silence before the markets open. Trading fees collected before 11 a.m. will be donated to attack survivors.

The TSX will open for its usual hours of 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The New York Stock Exchange will open 90 minutes late at 11 a.m., but close on schedule at 4 p.m. The U.S. bond markets will open at 9 a.m., closing two hours early, at 2 p.m.

The Investment Dealers Association of Canada recommends that Canadian bond markets observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., says financial analyst Chris Woolcock.

U.S. bond trader Cantor Fitzgerald LLP lost 658 employees in the trade centre collapse. Its Canadian operation could not be reached for comment, but is expected to follow the lead of its U.S. parent and close on Wednesday. Cantor's chairman will visit families of the deceased and lead a charity drive on Thursday. All company commissions that day will be donated to those families.

Thomson Corp. -- an electronic information company based in Toronto -- lost 11 U.S. employees. It is letting each division handle the memorial in the way its sees fit. The Canadian head office has only 14 people and is not planning a ceremony. The U.S. head office in Stamford, Conn., plans a brief remembrance service, a moment of silence and commemorative lapel pins for the staff.

Toronto-based Brookfield Properties Corp. had four buildings near the trade centre site, and all suffered damage. The Canadian operation will lay wreaths at cenotaphs in several of its buildings, with U.S. and Canadian flags.