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On first blush, Debbie Foisy’s business and Carl Rosenau’s company have little in common.

Foisy runs a small greenhouse near Morinville. Rosenau has a large trucking business with 750 employees and operations across Western Canada.

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Like many Alberta entrepreneurs, a common thread draws them together today: questions and concerns about the incoming provincial carbon tax.

Just days before the new $20-a-tonne carbon tax kicks in across the province, they’re trying to figure out how the levy will affect their companies, customers and employees.

“It’s going to increase our heat bill by 30 to 50 per cent,” says Foisy, who’s also president of the Alberta Greenhouse Growers Association.

“We just can’t add that cost on. Who’s going to pay?”

According to the province, Albertans will pay an extra 4.5 cents per litre of gasoline in the new year under the carbon tax, while natural gas costs will rise by about $1 a gigajoule. Diesel will increase by 5.4 cents per litre, while propane is set to increase by three cents.