Threat to equality dropped from text

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Drafters of the constitutional accord have agreed to drop a clause that some women view as a threat to sexual equality, according to a public report.

That should ease the fears of aboriginal women who have come out as opponents of the deal, said the Toronto Globe and Mail.

In an earlier version, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms would have been amended to specify that nothing in the Charter would affect the inherent right of aboriginal self-government.

The proposed clause, leaked to the media last month by the Native Women's Association of Canada, is the focus of a court case in which the Native women are seeking an injunction to block the Oct. 26 referendum. A decision was put off for two weeks.

In the final legal text of Charter amendments, the controversial clause was dropped. Instead, the text says the Charter should not diminish any rights or freedoms relating to the exercise or protection of the languages, cultures or traditions of aboriginal people.