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The town council of Herouxville, Que., has removed the phrase "stoning of women" from its controversial code of conduct aimed at immigrants.

"We changed some punctuation and a few adverbs, and we removed the phrase 'stoning of women,' " Councillor Ginette Pothier said.

But the overall spirit of the code of conduct, which tells immigrants they must fit in with the town of 1,300, remains. The town made the changes at a council meeting Monday night.

Herouxville, about 160 kilometres northeast of Montreal, has drawn international attention because of its "norms" or standards that forbid things such as circumcision and face coverings and support the singing of Christmas carols in public schools.

Last weekend, a delegation of Muslim women from Montreal paid a visit to the town to promote understanding.

In January, the town council had passed the list of societal norms for would-be immigrants, letting them know that a man cannot stone a woman to death or burn her with acid. "We made some modifications because people said we used words that were supposedly offensive," Councillor Andre Drouin said.

The Canadian Islamic Congress and Canadian Muslim Forum have lodged a complaint against the town with the Quebec Human Rights Commission.

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