Following a meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and visiting California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ottawa has announced plans to introduce a bill against movie piracy on Friday.

The Tories ‘will take action to put a stop to the problem of film piracy and will bring forward amendments to Canada’s Criminal Code,’ according to a statement released by Bev Oda, the heritage minister. ‘Piracy has a devastating effect on the entire film industry and our government intends to ensure respect for the intellectual property rights of cinematographic works.’

Oda is expected to introduce the long-awaited legislation with Minister of Justice Robert Nicholson and Minister of Industry Maxime Bernier, all three of whom have been under pressure from exhibitors, Hollywood and U.S. politicians to stiffen Canada’s laws against the camcording of movies in theaters. It is estimated that between 20% and 50% of all camcorder-sourced bootlegs are made in Canada, in particular in Montreal, owing to lax laws and day-and-date releases of Hollywood titles.

In protest, Warner Bros. last month cancelled all promotional screenings in Canada for its upcoming releases. In February, Harper and his ministers received a letter from two U.S. senators calling for improved anti-piracy laws north of the border.

The plans were announced following a Wednesday meeting between Harper and Schwarzenegger, during which the PM and the former action star reportedly discussed the film trade, the environment and health issues. Parliament is due to break for the summer on June 8, though it may continue as late as June 22.