The process is one that is the same for refugees whether they'd be sponsored by a group in Canada or referred to us by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. A visa officer assesses the case under the Canadian statutory and regulatory requirements, so a visa officer has to be satisfied that in fact this is a person who has a well-founded fear of persecution. In addition, the officer has to be satisfied that resettlement makes sense, that this person doesn't have another option for what we call a durable solution, that is, they don't have another country they can go to nor can they return to their own country. Finally, the visa officer has to be satisfied that they will be able to support themselves within a reasonable period of time after arriving in Canada and that they do not pose a risk to the health, safety, or security of Canadians.
On December 11th, 2007. See this statement in context.