Photo: Wayne Moore - Castanet

Premier Christy Clark made a stop in friendly territory Thursday to sell her government's latest budget.

The premier, fighting back a cold, spoke to a crowd of about 200 at a Kelowna Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Capri Hotel.

Clark extolled the virtues of her fourth straight balanced budget.

She was applauded for a decision to make all new housing, up to $750,000, exempt from the property transfer tax.

"And, as you know ... the bulk of the homes in this region of the province will be exempt because so many of them are listed at under $750,000. With that change, it means buyers will be saving up to about $13,000 each."

Clark also spoke of changes to MSP premiums while deflecting criticism from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation calling the system flawed and a hidden tax.

"There are those that will argue this whole MSP should be rolled into the tax system," said Clark.

"It does sound simple, but here is one of the obstacles. About a million people have their MSP premiums paid by their employer. We roll it into the tax system, and we're adding another million people into paying MSP that currently aren't."

During a brief Q&A, away from the budget, the premier talked about two water-related issues of importance to many in the Central Okanagan.

On the subject of an integrated water system for Kelowna, the premier said she would be meeting with Mayor Colin Basran on the issue.

"There are some issues with water quality that need to be addressed so, there will need to be changes."

Just what those changes will look like, they don't know, said Clark.

"I want to reiterate the province will not be forcing amalgamation in any part of the province, but I do believe we are going to come to an agreement that is going to work to ensure water quality is consistent and consistently high for everybody in the region."

The premier went on to say she believes the No. 1 objective should be to make sure water quality is as high as it can be.

The other issue centered around establishment of permanent inspection sites for invasive mussels.

The Okanagan Basin Water Board recently wrote the government asking it support a Ministry of Environment staff recommendation to add up to eight permanent inspection sites.

She said last year's pilot project was successful, and the government learned a lot.

The premier wouldn't get into specific plans, except to ask for everyone to stay tuned.

"I'm going to have more news on the final plan and what it's going to look like within the next month.

"We are still putting the final touches on that plan, but the new plan, which takes all the learnings from this last year into account, will be ready for the new boating season when it opens."