What to know
- Daniel Tate of IntegrityTO, an independent civic watchdog, released a video of his Taxpayers Land Acknowledgement speech he presented in front of a budget subcommittee meeting earlier this week.
- The video went viral on social media, amassing over one million views in a matter of three days.
- Tate says the speech is fuelled by his advocacy for civic engagement and frustration with the city’s governance.
A deputation at a City of Toronto budget subcommittee meeting at City Hall this week began with an unorthodox acknowledgement.
“Let’s reflect and remember that every word spoken in this chamber, every light bulb, and every salary paid – including those of the city councillors – is funded almost entirely by the hard work and earnings of taxpayers and property owners,” Daniel Tate, executive director of IntegrityTO, began.
“We pay respect to those taxpayers because without them, this institution could not indulge in ideological excesses like renaming streets and public squares, painting roads with inferior and environmentally damaging red paint, nor fund harm reduction programs that result in a steady stream of drug paraphernalia littering our streets, sidewalks, parks, and playgrounds.”
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@nowtoronto A Toronto resident said a "Taxpayer Land Acknowledgment" at City Hall this week. What do you think of his remarks? #Toronto ♬ original sound – Now Toronto
Tate says the Taxpayers Land Acknowledgement is based on others like it – the Land Acknowledgement that addresses the Indigenous community, the African Ancestral Acknowledgement that addresses the African community.
“I think it exposed a bit of the hypocrisy,” Tate tells Now Toronto.
“This isn’t to take away from the fact that basically everybody needs to get a fair share in Toronto. … I think we need to create unity and cohesion as a city, just be together as one Toronto.”
Tate founded IntegrityTO in 2025 – a non-partisan civic advocacy group that calls for accountability from the city’s municipal governance.
“It was born out of frustration with how our city was being run and how our city was being governed,” he says.
“I was born here, I grew up here, I love this city. I’m a product of Toronto. But I – like so many other peoples – were becoming frustrated with what I perceived to be a [city-wide] decline.”
The video of his speech gained a lot of attention on social media since he posted it on Jan. 21, amassing over one million views and 100,000 shares as of publication.
“I barely thought it would register.”
Canadians react to taxpayers’ acknowledgement
Many Torontonians seem to share Tate’s grievances about the city or at the very least his motive behind it.
“Brilliant,” one X user wrote. “Give this man a prize.”
“About time Canadians get their act together and remind these ‘public servants’ that they work for us, not the other way around,” another wrote.
“I am now 100% on board with this kind of acknowledgement; make this the new norm every time taxpayers confront bureaucracy,” another wrote.
“Does he have a bank account I can send him money? Thank you!” another asked.
How to support IntegrityTO’s cause
Tate says his taxpayers’ acknowledgement has prompted fellow Torontonians to reach out in support of his cause.
“It’s been great and it’s been organic,” he says.
“[I’ve been getting] a lot of messages of support and thanks from people who appreciate that there’s somebody at City Hall vouching and advocating for them.”
Tate says he aims to be the voice for people who are “unable to speak out or speak up” due to their circumstances.
“They have families, they have jobs, and they’re a bit more risk-averse. So, having me be their advocate and representative, I think they appreciate.”
Any monetary support for IntegrityTO’s work can be directed to the donation portal on its website. Tate says it will help him expand the organization and to raise awareness about what’s going on at City Hall and ultimately get residents more engaged with civic matters.
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“The most important thing I want IntegrityTO to build is to get more people engaged and involved in the democratic process,” he says.
“We have a very consequential election coming up in October, and as we saw in 2022, voter turnout was terrible. It was a record low and that doesn’t bode well for a city and democracy in general. So, if we can help get more people to the ballot boxes, that would be a big, important win for us.”
