Desjarlais builds community prosperity through construction industry
- NC Raine | October 28, 2021
John Desjarlais’ career took a zig-zag path, he’s a mechanical engineer, who is also a student of public policy, the general manager of a contracting firm and the board chair of an Indigenous construction group. But no matter what direction he's taken, his career has been guided by a common principle: look out for others.
“I just want to live a good life,” said Desjarlais.
“I believe there's enough wealth and resources for everyone. I think it's important that we figure out how we move forward in a way where we're not leaving other people behind.”
From Cumberland House in northeast Saskatchewan, Desjarlais saw the positive impact the mining industry had on his Métis family.
“Since I was very young, I got to see the livelihood it provided for us as a family. Moving forward, it really influenced me in terms of what my opportunities were.”
With strong convictions in environmentalism and sustainability, Desjarlais's first post-secondary pursuit was at Northland College in La Ronge, where he earned a Radiation and Environmental Monitoring certificate.
After a short stint in the mining industry, he returned to school and earned a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Saskatchewan – an interest his father instilled in him. He went on to take a Masters degree in Business Administration, certification in Maintenance Management, and is now working on his second Master's Degree, in Governance and Entrepreneurship in Northern and Indigenous Areas.
“In moving towards public policy and community development, I wanted to see a greater impact on Indigenous and Northern people. After I went to work with the economic development corporation at Cumberland Cree Nation, I developed a deeper understanding and appreciation for some of the challenges around there,” he said.
Desjarlais has been General Manager at Great Plains Contracting since 2019, a position and industry that he says is a vehicle to create large scale economic and social impact for Indigneous people.
“It's a field I've become passionate about. Realizing its impact, there's a lot of Indigenous business in this space. Being able to leave my mark in this space really cemented the choice of how I was going to spend the next few years of my life, absolutely committed to this,” he said.
Desjarlais has reinforced that impact through the Indigenous Owned Construction Companies Group (IOCCG), a new organization that provides a voice for Indigenous-owned construction companies, where he serves as board chair.
The group, made up of ten construction companies that are at least 51 percent Indigenous-owned, aims to increase the socio-economic impact of construction activities for Indigenous people and advocate for economic reconciliation.
“There's an unhealthy competition between our Indigenous businesses, with no sharing of information, not support for each other and no consistent messaging or a unified voice on how we push back on procurement policy,” he said.
“At the end of the day, we're all here to see the best possible engagement with our people, to see inclusive businesses succeed and to provide an opportunity back to communities, to share wealth with our communities.”
He says his desire to build a strong, prosperous community is common among Indigenous people.
“There's that strong sense in us. We want our relationships to be good, we want them to be fruitful for everyone. That sense of community and kinship. It's the basis of our treaty relations: to live harmoniously and prosper together.”