OTTAWA -- Liberal MPs are accusing the Conservative government of denying Canadian visitor visas to athletes from around the globe because they're gay.

Quebec MP Raymonde Folco said some applicants have been flatly denied entry and another 250 international participants have been waiting months for word on applications to attend the July 29-Aug. 5 Outgames sports competitions and human rights conference in Montreal. She suggested they may have been denied entry based on sexual orientation, and is demanding Citizenship and Immigration Minister Monte Solberg explain.

"I would like to be generous and say there may be another common denominator, but I don't see it," Folco said.

The former Liberal government invested about $2 million to help host the event, but Folco fears the participants are not welcome to the Conservative government.

Solberg's spokesman Lesley Harmer insisted there is no discrimination based on sexual orientation or race.