A B.C. father who filed a human rights complaint after hostesses refused to seat him and his underage son at a bar on Cypress Mountain ski hill has lost his case.

In fact, the provincial Human Rights Tribunal ruled against hearing his complaint at all, saying it was doomed to fail from the start.

Brendan Keith and his 12-year-old son tried to have an early dinner at the Crazy Raven Bar at the mountain lodge on Dec. 17, 2016.

The Crazy Raven Bar and Grill at the Cypress Mountain Lodge is licensed primarily to serve liquor. (Crazy Raven Bar & Grill/Facebook)

Keith said he saw the sign at the front of the bar saying that no minors were allowed, but he believed his son should've been seated — because he was with his dad.

The decision said hostesses and a manager "politely" told the pair they wouldn't allow minors in the bar. After some back-and-forth, the pair was ultimately turned away.

Keith said they drove back to have dinner in Vancouver. He said their evening had been "wasted" and that they left the ski hill "disgusted, upset and embarrassed."

He later filed the human rights complaint, saying it was discriminatory to refuse to serve him on account of his son's age under the "family status" section of B.C.'s Human Rights Code.

The Crazy Raven serves mainly liquor, but a more family-friendly restaurant next door focuses on food. (Associated Press)

However, in its decision, the tribunal said there is nothing in the code to stop a decision based on age, if that decision is allowed or required by a provincial regulation.

So, because the bar's refusal to seat his son based on his age was based on its licensing rules, the tribunal had no grounds to accept Keith's complaint.

The decision also noted that Keith admitted he'd seen the sign saying no minors would be allowed.

The father's complaint, with "no prospect" of winning, was dismissed.

Cypress's story

In its application to have Keith's complaint tossed, Cypress said the Crazy Raven is fully licensed as a bar and can't allow minors inside, unless it places a sign up front saying that they can come with a parent or guardian.

When Keith and his son visited, Cypress said the sign about the exception for accompanied minors wasn't there, so staff couldn't seat the 12-year-old without risking a fine.

Cypress said Keith's behaviour was "aggressive and disrespectful" and said staff were doing their jobs when they refused to seat him and his son.

The Crazy Raven is next door to the Cypress Creek Grill inside the lodge — in fact, they share a wall. The family-friendly grill is licensed primarily for serving food. (The latter can and does serve alcohol but only in certain areas of the restaurant.)

The company also noted that 2.5 million people have visited the bar and the grill over the past nine winters, with no problem over the rules around alcohol and seating.