The NDP Candidate for Springfield-Ritchot is encouraging those in his riding to vote with the future in mind.

Ile Des Chênes resident Sam Okoi has spent the past ten years supporting programs that fight poverty and advocate for equality as well as researching the detrimental effects of an increasingly automated world.

“We need to start thinking about the impact technology will have on our future world,” stresses Okoi. “Technology is changing the fundamentals of employment, business operations, as well as how government provides services like health care and social protection.”

In order to protect job security in a time where robotized work is becoming the norm, Okoi is calling for changes to the public education system.

“I am supporting quality education to prepare our children for a future where they will be competing with robots.”

Another key piece of Okoi’s platform is the reversal of what he calls “Pallister’s very big mistake”. Okoi recognizes that the recent cut to ER services in Winnipeg has affected those living outside the city as well.

“The shortcomings of Pallister have had enormous consequences on rural people,” states Okoi who would see those health care services restored and others added to the communities within Springfield-Ritchot.

“I would personally love to encourage physicians to invest in rural communities,” says Okoi. “Maybe we can have a few walk-in clinics in this area to help decongest those in the city, allowing people with health problems here to assess them locally.”

Okoi also sees straining in the systems that take care of the aging population and feels that too needs addressing.

“I want to put the well-being of our senior citizens at the centre of our political discourse. These people have sacrificed themselves to build the system we are befitting from.”

Okoi says he has many credentials behind him to back his various ideas. Okoi holds various degrees including a Bachelor of Arts in International Development and Masters of Arts in both Public Policy and Political Science. He has served as a faculty member in the Department of Global Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario and in the Human Rights department at the University of Winnipeg. Okoi has also been the recipient of a handful of awards commending him for his practices of promoting moral values that transcend cultural barriers.