What our visa officers look at primarily are the bona fides of the application in terms of the facts that are presented to that visa officer. They look at the ties in the country of origin, whether that be family or professional business ties, etc., and what are they up to? They look at the travel history of the individual. Does the person have any travel history at all, or is this the first time they're proposing to travel outside the country? They look to determine that the person is able to financially support themselves for the time they're going to be in Canada. They look at whether there are other family members in Canada in terms of who they are coming to visit and what is the purpose of their visit--those kinds of questions. And they make the best decision they can under the circumstances.
When one looks at the refugee claims made in Canada, there is a significant percentage of those claimants whom our officers overseas decided were bona fide visitors but who made refugee claims when they arrived. So we got it “wrong” in those circumstances.
But I would say there are undoubtedly times when someone could have received a visa and was refused. And people then have the opportunity to re-apply and to be considered by a different officer.