The constant rhetoric spewing from Doug Ford's mouth should not come as a shock to anyone. Like our neighbours to the south, we chose to elect a bombastic, spoiled rich kid whose power tripping "I'll show you" attitude is deeply rooted in unadulterated narcissism. By all accounts, both Mr. Trump and Mr. Ford shared rather privileged childhoods, much different than the overwhelming majority of their constituents. They both enjoyed being the benefactors of successful family businesses, which provided them with preordained, unearned titles that had more to do with bloodlines than merit. This similarity undoubtedly serves as the genesis for their unbridled sense of entitlement.

Perhaps what is most troubling is that this verbose sense of entitlement has constituents on both sides of the border questioning right from wrong and truth from fiction. Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Ford have a unique way of spinning the truth in an attempt to sway the general populace into supporting their individual agendas.

With his latest agenda being to decimate Ontario's education system, Mr. Ford recently told Ontario teachers to stand down with respect to any potential strike action this fall, citing the many perks that teachers receive and referring to their jobs as "good gigs." In doing so he made some interesting claims that I would like to address by echoing a term his mentor Mr. Trump made famous use of during both his campaigns - WRONG!

Mr. Ford started by stating that teachers have the best benefit package in the country. WRONG!

Police, firefighters and many other public service employees have benefit plans far superior to those of Ontario teachers. Many plans carry unlimited paramedical coverage such as physiotherapy and massage, to name two. These plans also allow the employee and their spouses to retain fully vested benefits well into the employee's retirement. Locally, firefighters and their spouses enjoy these benefits until the age of 70. Conversely teacher benefit plans have a defined cap on paramedical usage and carry zero coverage of any sort post-retirement. Benefits stop when teachers stop working.

Mr. Ford then went on to state that teachers have the best pension plan in the country. WRONG! The OMERS (Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System) plan, which is the plan that most public-sector workers pay into, as well as HOOPP (Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan) are identical in pension benefits to that of the teachers and in some cases have better attributes. I'm sure what Mr. Ford meant to say was that the teachers have the best managed pension plan, which is the envy of many others.

Mr. Ford then has the audacity to make reference to the three months off that teachers enjoy while failing to mention that MPPs enjoy a six-month sojourn. To this I refer to our contractual commitment requiring us to work approximately 200 days per academic calendar. Should Mr. Ford or anyone else have an issue with our time off please understand that I for one would gladly work an extra few weeks, keeping in mind however I'm going to get paid for it. The extra money would come in handy. Oh, and by the way, payment would of course be at time and a half, keeping us in line with our public-sector brethren.

Digressing back to Mr. Ford's strike comment, it appears that the teachers and the province are once again headed into an inevitable labour strife. I am however surprised that Mr. Ford is unable to see the simple solution that stands right before him. A solution that would put an end to any and all strike talk while satisfying the need for teacher pay and benefit increases. It is really quite simple: make teachers an essential service. Firefighters and police officers are deemed "essential" and therefore cannot strike. Contract impasses are sent to arbitration, ruled upon and made binding. Arbitrators routinely award five per cent and six per cent increases as well as benefit upgrades without striking. It gets better: awards are retroactive and can be paid dating back three or four years. Firefighters and police officers love it. The solution looks like a win-win for all involved. All parties are happy and no labour disruption.

However, as one peels back the layers it is easy to see why Mr. Ford and his cronies would never see this as an option. You see, by making teachers "essential" Mr. Ford would be acknowledging that teachers are "absolutely necessary" and "extremely important." We all know that there is no chance of that happening.

Joe Citino is an educator who lives in Ancaster