Francis Dura, one of two Filipinos arrested last month for working illegally in the Yukon, will be sent back to the Philippines after a hearing determined the 28-year-old violated the conditions of his work permit.

Whether or not Francis Dura knew he was breaking the law when he came to work in the Yukon earlier this year is inconsequential, Michael McPhalen, the adjudicator for the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada that heard the case, said Monday.

In issuing Dura an exclusion order under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act – which bars him from re-entering Canada for one year – McPhalen said he must render his decision based on the act and if Dura broke the rules.

"Working in violation of the work permit doesn't require a guilty mind,” McPhalen explained during Dura's admissibility hearing. It was conducted via teleconference between Vancouver and the Whitehorse office of Karen Wenckebach, the lawyer representing Dura.

Kenny Nicolaou presented Canadian Border Services' case against Dura. The man was apprehended by RCMP and a Canadian Border Services agent at the beginning of June while the agent searched a Whitehorse residence for documents related to Raynaldo Verdeflor, a second Filipino found to be working illegally in the territory.

Verdeflor's admissibility hearing is slated for Wednesday.

Both men are in Canada under the federal government's temporary foreign workers program and possess visas valid for employment only in Alberta.

On Jan. 16, 2010, Dura landed in Calgary but was informed his job at a Canadian Tire outlet in Calgary would not begin until March 1. Having spent nearly $4,000 to get to Canada, Dura was broke and called his aunt, Ailene Gayangos, who paid for his plane ticket to Whitehorse.

Verdeflor, 45, was laid off in the spring by his employer, Alberta Oats Milling Ltd., so he too came to the territory in search of another job. Prior to arriving in the Yukon, neither of the men knew each other.

Before Dura's arrest, he was working at Tim Hortons in Whitehorse and the donut shop was in the process of having him approved for the Yukon Nominee Program that allows businesses in the territory to sponsor foreign workers.

However, when officials at the Education department – which administers the nominee program – learned Dura was doing shifts at the donut shop while his paperwork was working through the system, they told Tim Hortons to suspend Dura's hours until the process could be finalized.

Verdeflor managed to find a job at another busy Whitehorse coffee shop – the Chocolate Claim – a work stint that lasted just three weeks.

The 45-year-old father of two, who is working overseas to pay for his daughters' education back in the Philippines, said he believed the Chocolate Claim's owner, Glenys Baltimore, was going to sponsor him in the Yukon Nominee Program.

Baltimore said she was until she realized Verdeflor didn't have a valid work permit. He did have a social insurance number, Baltimore noted, and said his permit was valid, so she gave him a job.

It is at this point where the stories diverge.

Verdeflor said Baltimore withheld three weeks' pay, and when he finally received his cheque from a Canadian Border Services agent who apprehend him, it was short nearly 20 hours.

Baltimore denies withholding Verdeflor's pay, or shortchanging him. She said she contacted Canadian Border Services because she was unsure if it is against the law to pay somebody working illegally.

Officials at Border Services told her to issue the cheque and thanked her for the tip.

When the Canadian Border Services agent went to find paperwork related to Verdeflor at a Whitehorse residence, Dura was discovered hiding in a closet, Nicolaou submitted.

The agent checked Dura's work permit valid only for Alberta, Nicolaou said, found pay stubs to Dura from the local Tim Hortons, and took him into custody, as well.

Wenckebach conceded the circumstances of Dura's arrest and his attempt to hide in a closet appeared "dodgey”, but understandable in light of Dura's family history.

According to Dura, his stepfather in the Philippines was an abusive police officer who tortured and ridiculed him and therefore he was afraid of police.

Alex Furlong, the Yukon Federation of Labour boss who brought attention to the Filipino men's predicament at the end of June, argues both should be permitted to stay in the territory.

Following Monday's decision that Dura be shipped home, Furlong said he expected as much and will appeal to Jason Kenny, the federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to stay the exclusion order on compassionate grounds.

"There was no willful intent to break the law, and you have to take into full context the actions of Mr. Dura,” said Furlong. "There's an employer here willing to employ him, so we're going to ask the minister to consider (staying the exclusion order).”

Another alternative is to appeal for a judicial review of the admissibility hearing in federal court, but this would be costly, said Furlong, and likely to result in the same outcome.

More than 20 supporters of Dura waited outside Wenckebach's office to hear the Immigration board's decision, which was met with tears and disappointment.

Dura thanked the media and those who came out to support him.

There is no word as to when Dura's exclusion order will be executed, and Canadian Border Services could not be reached for comment as of press time this afternoon.