Los Angeles - Following a trip up north this week by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Canadian government said it will introduce legislation aimed at stemming film piracy in the country, Variety reported.

"Canada's new government will take action to put a stop to the problem of film piracy and will bring forward amendments to Canada's Criminal Code," Heritage Minister Bev Oda told Variety.

"Piracy has a devastating impact on the entire film industry, and our government intends to ensure respect for the intellectual property rights of cinematic works."

The assurance follows letters sent by several Senators to Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the topic of film piracy, as well as Warner Bros.' move to halt all promotional screenings in the country -- where it says 70% of its titles that have been pirated in the past 18 months have originated from.

Currently, videotaping a movie in a Canadian movie theater is a civil offense; U.S. movie studios have been pressuring the government there to beef up penalties and enforcement.

Related Links:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117966060.html

http://www.mptac.ca/english/index.html