There was once again a heated debate in Council Chambers as to whether or not two local businesses should be paid for work they did to repair a water main last fall.

Councillor Ron Matechuk brought forward a resolution to rescind the approved payment to Water X, who submitted an invoice to the City for almost $24K.

Matechuk questioned once again who was responsible for paying the bill, and went as far as to say that there is a possibility that Water X deliberately disrupted the main.

Councillor Penny Byer spoke against rescinding the resolution and payment, saying that the City has an obligation to make sure that all bills get paid, especially when not paying could make the difference whether a company can continue to do business.

Councillor Duncan Wong brought forward the motion to rescind payment to Eric’s Plumbing and Heating, claiming that there is a cover-up taking place.

Councillor Matechuk spoke in favour of this second rescintion, saying that the companies now have "a shortcut to City Hall".

The resolution to rescind payment to Water X, as well as the one to rescind payment to Eric’s Plumbing and Heating, were defeated.