Petition to Premier Doug Ford: Fire Minister of Education Paul Calandra

Premier Ford,

You call yourself the Premier for the people.

You say you care about families.
You say you want to help ordinary Ontarians.
You say you listen when people are hurting.

Now is the time to prove it.

We, the people, are calling on you to fire your Minister of Education, Paul Calandra.

Not tomorrow.
Not after another review.
Not after another speech.
Not after more empty promises.

Now.

Because your employee has failed Ontario’s children.

Paul Calandra has overseen a broken education system that has harmed thousands of children with special education needs. Families have begged for help. Teachers and EAs have begged for help. Principals and school boards have sounded the alarm. The warnings were not quiet. They were not hidden. They were not unknown.

School boards sent reports.
School boards explained what they needed.
School boards warned that they did not have the staffing, funding, and supports required to meet the needs of children like my son, Maximus Simao.

Those reports were supposed to matter.

They were supposed to be read.
They were supposed to be acted on.
They were supposed to help children before tragedy happened.

Instead, they sat there.

Whether they were ignored, buried, pushed aside, used like a coaster, or treated like a mouse pad on a Minister’s desk, the result is the same:

Nothing was done in time.

And now this is not a warning anymore.

Now it is not a concern.
Now it is not a possibility.
Now it is not something families are afraid might happen.

Now it is a fact.

Because my son is dead.

Max was not a statistic in the Auditor General’s report.

Max was not a line in a budget.
Max was not a problem to manage.
Max was not an inconvenience to the system.

Max was a beautiful seven-year-old boy with autism. He had a right to education. He had a right to support. He had a right to be in school with his classmates, learning, laughing, eating lunch, and being safe.

But because the supports he needed were not available, Max was placed on a modified schedule and sent home early.

On December 11, Max died on his way home.

That is what this broken system did.

That is what ignored warnings did.

That is what underfunding did.

That is what happens when a Minister of Education does not show the compassion, urgency, or responsibility required to make sure every child gets their legal and moral right to an education.

Premier Ford, your Minister had warnings.

He had reports.
He had school boards telling him what was needed.
He had families crying out.
He had education workers sounding the alarm.

And still, children were left without support.

Still, families were left fighting alone.

Still, kids were sent home because the system could not provide what they needed.

And now, through that failure, through that lack of action, through that lack of compassion, our son Maximus Simao is dead.

You cannot call yourself the Premier for the people while protecting the Minister responsible for this level of failure.

You cannot say you care about families while leaving Paul Calandra in charge of the very system that failed ours.

You cannot claim to support children while children with disabilities are being pushed out of classrooms because your government did not give schools what they needed.

The Auditor General’s report says it all.

And it is not just about Max.

Max is our son.
Max is our heartbreak.
Max is the reason I will never stop fighting.

But this crisis is bigger than one child and one family.

The Auditor General’s 2026 Special Education Needs report found that Ontario’s special education system is failing children, families, and education workers. The report found that educational assistant absences and vacancies went unfilled by a qualified substitute 49% to 72% of the time, leaving students without the support they needed to learn safely. (Newswire)

The Ontario Autism Coalition’s special education report showed the same crisis from families’ side. It found that 6% of families, representing over 21,000 special education students, reported that their children were fully excluded from school. It found that 19% of families reported their child was placed on a modified schedule. It found that 50% of families said their children were not receiving a meaningful education. (Ontario Autism Coalition)

So no, Premier Ford, this is not just Max.

This is thousands of children.

Thousands of families.

Thousands of warnings.

Thousands of cries for help.

Max is the name we are screaming because Max paid the ultimate price.

But behind Max are children all across Ontario being sent home, left unsupported, excluded, placed on shortened days, denied meaningful education, and treated like their needs are too much.

They are not too much.

The system is too broken.

And Paul Calandra is responsible for the system he leads.

The harm is real.

The heartbreak is real.

The damage done to thousands of children is real.

And in our family, the worst possible outcome is real.

Our son is gone.

Premier Ford, show us the man you claim to be.

Show us that children matter more than politics.

Show us that families matter more than protecting your Minister.

Show us that when a government employee fails this badly, there is accountability.

Fire Paul Calandra as Minister of Education.

Fully fund special education.

End modified schedules and exclusions caused by lack of supports.

Stop ignoring school boards when they tell you children are at risk.

Listen to the families who have been warning you for years.

And say my son’s name:

Maximus Simao.

Because Max should still be here.

Premier Ford, if you will not act as the Premier for the people, then act as a father.

Demand accountability.

Demand justice for Max.

Ask yourself what you would do if it was your child who was sent home because the system failed them.

Ask yourself what you would demand if it was your child who never came home.

What if it was your child?

Fire Paul Calandra.

Fully fund special education.

Protect the children still here.

And prove that Max’s life mattered.