Owen Leitch

This story is part of Welcome to Canada, a CBC News series about immigration told through the eyes of the people who have experienced it. WARNING: This article contains details of intimate partner violence and sexual abuse and may affect those who have experienced it or know someone affected by it. This is a tale of two women seeking asylum in Canada. Both are mothers who fled their homeland with their children due to gender-based violence.

This story is part of Welcome to Canada, a CBC News series about immigration told through the eyes of the people who have experienced it. The number of refugee claimants Canada has accepted has more than doubled since 2018. A CBC investigation has found that people from some countries have an easier time claiming asylum than others. The number of refugee claimants granted asylum in Canada was close to 37,000 in 2023, up from just over 14,000 in 2018.

In Toronto, close to 460,000 houses (plus most apartment and condo buildings) have their organic waste collected by the City of Toronto. But, according to City audits, about 40% of what’s put in the garbage is organic waste that could have gone into the Green Bin. When put in the garbage, those food scraps, pizza boxes and coffee grounds head straight to landfill, where the gases they produce as they break down contribute to climate change.