Karolidis runs his graphic design business Messenger Pigeon out of his garage and Shakeel runs a cellphone repair shop, Shak Electronics, in a storefront he rents. Karolidis has invested around $6,000 of his own money into his business, while Shakeel has used around $4,000 of his savings.

According to both Karolidis and Shakeel, the program administrators were quick to change the subject when the topic of funds was brought up by students. “They kept blaming it on the higher-ups and saying it was out of their control,” said Karolidis

But the mystery of the funding is hard to unravel.

The program is funded by the province and then delivered by the city through the Mississauga Business Enterprise Centre (MBEC). The funding comes directly from the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

When asked about the funding, the ministry declined to comment on why it wasn’t there. They also declined to comment on when (or if) the funding would come. They did offer this statement:

“The government recently conducted a comprehensive review of its business support programs to ensure that public resources are being used efficiently and effectively. Mississauga received confirmation of their funding in March and the funding will be provided as soon as the agreements are fully signed.”

When the MBEC was asked about the funding agreements, they had even less to say.

“Currently, we are still finalizing contract details with the province and have no further information at this time.”

And that’s where the trail goes cold. Neither the ministry nor the MBEC would comment further on the funding and declined requests to speak over the phone.

“The Province is committed to providing funding to MBEC. We have received the agreement in hand and are currently reviewing it. The completed agreement will also be brought forward to Council for approval in September," said a City of Mississauga spokesperson in an email.

The Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Hon. Victor Fedeli (Nipissing) did not comment on the status of funding either.

To make matters worse, Karolidis has heard from other students that Summer Companies in York Region and Toronto have their funding in place, and that students have already received their grants.

The city of Toronto did not comment on their funding status but the Regional Municipality of York shared this comment;

"All Summer Company students working with the York Small Business Enterprise Centre have received their initial grant, and the program is on track and progressing well."

The Mississauga program continued to run their usual workshops as scheduled and although Karolidis and Shakeel found them to be beneficial, they wish they had other options.

Because participants of the program are barred from working jobs, the students did not make as much money as they hoped.

While the program is set to officially end on Labour Day, it seems unlikely that the funding will come in.

When asked if he would have joined the program knowing there wasn’t going to be a grant, Shakeel gave a simple and honest answer:

“No."

Editor's Note: This story was updated on Tuesday, August 13 at 1:22 p.m. to include a new statement from the City of Mississauga.

Editor's Note: This story was updated on Wednesday, August 21 at 12:05 p.m. to include a new statement from the Regional Municipality of York.

Editor's Note: The story was updated on Friday, September 6 at 4:49 p.m. to show that both Shan Shakeel and Constantine Karolidis received an email from the City of Mississauga stating that they would both receive the full $3,000 grant in the coming weeks.

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