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It was very cold in Calgary during that billing time, but these percentages of the cost of the carbon tax on our bill is not unusual. While this tax does not represent a huge hardship for me and my family, it does for many Albertans.

For 84-year-old widow Edith (who has asked that her last name not be used since she lives alone), the carbon tax has been hard, even though she keeps her bungalow near the University of Calgary “cooler than is always comfortable” most of the time.

“For me, getting rid of the carbon tax will be a godsend,” says Edith. “More government spending on programs doesn’t help me. What I really need is for the government to leave just a bit more of my own money in my own pocket,” said the healthy great-grandmother, who is originally from small-town Saskatchewan. She says she’ll be voting UCP on April 10 when the advance polls open.

On Wednesday, Kenney was campaigning in Lethbridge talking to the Sailer brothers, who took him on a tour of their 40-year-old family business, Southland Trailers.

Jason Sailer, 34, says the carbon tax costs their company around $7,000 a month.

“We have a couple of paint booths that use a lot of natural gas to dry the paint,” said Sailer.

“We believe in reinvesting money in our business for new equipment and to hire new people, and (the carbon tax) is just one more thing taking away from that pot,” said the 34-year-old father of a two-year-old boy.

Hiring more people means more money flowing into government coffers and more money for hospitals and education. And these aren’t minimum-wage jobs. Southland Trailer’s 180 employees make anywhere from about $18 to $38 per hour.