OTTAWA -- Ottawa's finance and economic development committee agrees council should set aside millions of dollars to keep up legal fights with the consortium that built the Confederation Line LRT.

A committee meeting Tuesday night, much of which was behind closed doors, approved a plan to spend an additional $15 million to cover legal expenses in the city's ongoing battles with the Rideau Transit Group (RTG).

The plan must still be approved by full city council.

The city has withheld tens of millions of dollars in payments to RTG because of the lengthy delay in launching the east-west Confederation Line—it was more than a year late—and because of extensive problems that plagued the line for much of its first year in service.

The city plans to recoup the legal expenses from RTG through the dispute resolution process.

City council will vote on the expense March 10.