Two Filipino men facing deportation for violating conditions of their work permits are voluntarily returning home. They expect to leave the Yukon in mid-October, says Alex Furlong, president of the Yukon Federation of Labour.

At an immigration hearing in July, 28-year-old Francis Dura was declared ineligible to remain in Canada. The other Filipino labourer, 45-year-old Raynaldo Verdeflor, faced a similar outcome, but has declined to have his case heard.

Furlong appealed to federal Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney to waive Dura's exclusion order and show leniency to Verdeflor, but the labour federation president said Kenney rebuffed the request.

"Rules are rules and you're S.O.L.,” is how Furlong described Kenney's response.

According to Canadian immigration law, ignorance of the law or mitigating circumstances are not considered when determining the admissibility of foreigners found in noncompliance with their visas.

Attempts to get a more robust explanation from Citizenship and Immigration or Kenney were unsuccessful as of press time this afternoon.

Both Dura and Verdeflor came to Canada under the federal government's temporary foreign workers program and possessed 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 there 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 a Tim Hortons outlet in Whitehorse, and the donut shop was in the process of having him approved for the Yukon Nominee Program that permits 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 restaurant 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 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, would 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 apprehended 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. When the agent checked his passport and discovered a pay stub from Tim Hortons, Dura was also taken into custody.

Yukon Legal Services Society provided legal counsel for Dura's immigration hearing but did not offer the same for Verdeflor, so Furlong offered to represent him. The society has yet to provide an explanation for the discrepancy, more than six weeks after the Star's original query.

While the cases generated much sympathy for the two men, it also shed light on information gaps between the territory's Education department – which administers the Yukon Nominee Program – and employers.

As well, the situation is a reminder to foreign workers to be aware of the rules governing their visas and their responsibilities.

Furlong said Dura and Verdeflor plan to reapply to return to the Yukon.

"Both men are humbled by the support of the community in their efforts to remain in Canada and Yukon; however, it is clear through the various processes that they must return and file the necessary paper work to hopefully return in the future,” Furlong said.