The Conservative government plans to table legislation after Parliament resumes later this month to make it easier for Canadians to conduct a citizen's arrest, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed Saturday.

"I expect that the government will be introducing legislation as quickly as possible once the new session starts, in the next couple of weeks," Dimitri Soudas, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, told The Canadian Press.

Parliament is set to resume Jan. 31.

New Democrat MP Olivia Chow said Saturday the NDP supports the decision to introduce the bill, noting that she introduced a similar bill.

"The roadmap is in front of them. My private member's bill, it's in the House of Commons. All they have to do is say yes. If they want to copy it, that's fine by me," Chow told CP.

"Let's make sure that hard working store owners won't get punished if they try to defend their stores because that's totally unfair."

Soudas' announcement follows a closed-door meeting on Friday between Harper and two Toronto businessmen, including one who was previously charged after detaining a repeat shoplifter.

Away from reporters and cameras, Harper told shopkeeper David Chen and investment banker Ricky Chan the bill will be introduced in three to four weeks once the House of Commons resumes Jan. 31, the men said.

The citizen's arrest issue was thrust into the national spotlight when Chen was charged for tying up serial shoplifter Anthony Bennett after he caught Bennett stealing plants from his Chinatown store in 2009.

After much controversy, assault and forcible confinement charges against Chen were stayed last October. For his part in the incident, Bennett was convicted of theft and served 30 days in jail.

Catching a thief in the act is a requirement of the law when making a citizen's arrest. In Chen's case, he captured the shoplifter at his store one hour after the plants were stolen.

But a judge called the one-hour issue a "red herring," saying the thief returned to Chen's store to steal more items.

Chen's case caught the attention of MPs from all parties, but Soudas maintained the government isn't playing politics with the issue.

Harper previously instructed the Justice Department to look at changing the Criminal Code to ensure that there is no repeat of what happened to Chen.

In separate interviews, Chen and Chan said their 10-minute meeting with Harper left them feeling upbeat.

"We hope the law, (they) can change it so we can have more power to protect the store owners … I know how much money we lose there," Chen said.

Chan formed a victims' rights action committee about 18 months ago to aid Chen after his arrest.

Bennett, meanwhile, was recently banned from two Toronto shopping districts for three years and sentenced to four months in jail for additional theft convictions.

With reports from The Canadian Press