Glance around any amateur hockey dressing room in Nova Scotia and the faces you鈥檙e likely to see are mostly male and mostly white. Halifax attorney Dean Smith (BA鈥�95, LLB鈥�99) is on a mission to change that.
In addition to his busy law career, Smith sits on the Board of Directors at as the Chair of Diversity and Inclusion, where he works to make the sport more welcoming for people living with disablities, African Nova Scotian, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ players of all genders.
Smith says he鈥檚 unapologetic about demanding change and budget lines and he welcomes challenges. 鈥淚 get frustrated all the time,鈥� Smith says, 鈥渂ut I welcome the impediments; I welcome the roadblocks. Because if you can see them, you can address them and you can fix them.鈥�
And his work is being recognized. In 2023, Smith received the NHL鈥檚 Willie O鈥橰ee Community Hero Award, given to somebody who positively impacts their community through hockey. 鈥淒ean constantly works to create a friendly and safe space for everyone,鈥� says O鈥橰ee, who was the first Black player to compete in the NHL. 鈥淗e gives back in so many ways to grow the game.鈥�
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Growing the game is exactly what Smith had in mind when his Diversity and Inclusion Task Force at Hockey Nova Scotia noticed a lack of registrations from historically excluded players. When the task force asked parents to name their top three impediments to accessing the game, number one was cost, number two was time and number three was a lack of a sense of belonging. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an echo chamber,鈥� says Smith. 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 telling the same story from different communities.鈥�
So, in addition to supporting underrepresented players, Smith makes sure to celebrate them too. Because 鈥渉ow can you look up to role models when you don鈥檛 see them?鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 not just having a certain number of players of colour in the NHL. What about in your community?鈥�
The community level is where Smith thrives. In July 2023, Hockey Nova Scotia supported the , a tournament entirely for LGBTQ+ players. Smith serves as lead instructor to the and also supports Breaking Ice鈥攁 program for new Canadians to learn hockey rules and jargon. 鈥淚t has an impact on how our underrepresented communities see the game, and whether they feel invited or not,鈥� Smith says.
For Smith, diversity isn鈥檛 a conversation that happens once and fixes everything. 鈥淲e have to treat it as something that people become proficient at and continually learn,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how we change the game.鈥�
This story appeared in the听DAL Magazine Fall/Winter 2023听issue. Flip through the rest of the issue using the links below.