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A Manitoba Star Trek fan is going to court after the Crown revoked his personalized licence plate that reads ASIMIL8 (assimilate).

Manitoba Public Insurance suggests the plate could be interpreted as an insult to Indigenous people.

An executive says staff who approved the plate could face disciplinary action for issuing it at a time of reconciliation with Indigenous people.

Nick Troller filed a legal challenge over the decision.

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He says his plate was a play on a well-known saying by an alien race on Star Trek called the Borg.

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Troller says he drove around with the plate for nearly two years and no one complained until 2017.

Plates are denied for a variety of reasons, including if they are offensive, suggestive, discriminatory or include racial or ethnic slang.

Some other examples of licence plates denied in Manitoba include BITE ME, VINO, MMMBEER and HOLYCOW.

The Crown insurer declined to comment because the case is before the courts.