Liberal MP Denis Paradis says he would like the House of Commons committee he chairs to explore the idea of making Ottawa an officially bilingual city.
The Quebec MP says that since Canada has both English and French as its official languages, it would make sense for its national capital to have them both too.
It is an idea that has come and gone over the decades, sparking debate between those who want stronger protections for the rights of the minority French-speaking community in Ottawa and those who fear it would cost too much and further restrict access to jobs.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson has long opposed changing the status, saying the city has already been bilingual since adopting an official policy on the matter in 2001.
Alain Dupuis, member of a group representing francophone communities in Ottawa, says enshrining the policy in law would better protect French-language services from the whims of politicians.
Paradis says he is inspired to raise the issue with colleagues on the Commons official languages committee because it was long championed by the late Ottawa-Vanier MP Mauril Belanger.
The Canadian Press