For more than 25 years, LAMP Community Health Centre has run outreach programs for marginalized parents and children in its family centre, thanks to federal grants that made it possible to hire student supervisors.

This year brought shocking news from the federal Conservative government: no grant.

"Why for 25 years did we pass, and this year we don't?" Executive Director Russ Ford asked. "You'd think they'd want to put money in programs for at-risk kids. The government is running a surplus and they're cutting the summer students program? It makes no sense."

Now, Ford and staff are making decisions about which youth programs to scale back and which to eliminate.

The grant also funds students who filled in for vacationing staff of LAMP's Ask! information program for immigrants and refugees.

Over the winter, the Conservative government brought in a new name and new mandate for its Canada Summer Jobs program. Last week, rejection letters drew puzzlement from agencies and MPs across Canada.

Liberal MP Roy Cullen (Etobicoke North) wrote Human Resources Minister Monte Solberg on Friday, and called on him to review the decision to refuse applications for funding from 13 organizations in his riding, including one from Canadian Training Institute for its gang-exit project Breaking the Cycle.

"At the very least, there have been huge funding cuts," Cullen said in an interview. "If I was very cynical, I might say the Conservatives made some partisan changes. I can't imagine any (government) department engineering a whole range of new applications."

Last week in the House of Commons, Solberg acknowledged a number of organizations were denied, and that he'd review the situation.

Previously, MPs vetted the list of funding applicants, offered input and made "small adjustments," Cullen said.

"Why should the department decide where summer students should go? When MPs signed off, I always tweaked it to organizations I knew really needed the help."