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For refusing to serve a man carrying what it deemed to be improper I.D. — and then calling the police when he refused to leave — a Halifax bar is now awaiting punishment for what the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission deemed to be a discriminatory act of “imposing the police” on a customer “because of his colour.”

The bar, the Halifax Alehouse, maintains that it had no racial malice in kicking out Sierra Leone immigrant Dino Gilpin; they were simply fulfilling the strict requirements of Nova Scotia’s Alcohol and Gaming Division.

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“Our motto is ‘if in doubt, keep them out,’” Alehouse general manager Peter Martell said in a letter filed before the commission. “We are heavily scrutinized by the [Alcohol and Gaming Division] and follow their guidelines.”

The incident occurred on a Saturday night in February, 2010. Mr. Gilpin, then 32, entered the Alehouse, ordered a beer and was immediately “carded” by server Stephanie Lent.