The Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce is urging business owners to check their foreign workers' permits carefully, in light of a case that has brought negative publicity to the Yukon's foreign worker program.

Chamber officials say they fear that negative publicity could result in the Yukon government's foreign temporary worker nominee program being scrapped altogether.

"For the foreign worker, for the business person here, for the Department of Education, it's just been working perfectly," chamber president Rick Karp said of the Yukon's nominee program.

"We don't want to have any disruption to that."

The Yukon's Education Department operates one of two foreign temporary worker nominee programs in the territory, with the other being administered by the federal government.

Karp said Yukon government officials have warned the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce that if the public believes the territorial nominee program is unfair or exploitive, the program could be cancelled.

Man faces deportation

The current controversy is over a Filipino man who faces possible deportation, after he was arrested for working in Whitehorse without the proper paperwork.

Francis Dura, 29, had been approved to work in Alberta. He was waiting for a similar approval from the Yukon government's nominee program when he was arrested.

Karp is advising chamber members to be absolutely sure that the foreign workers they hire are approved to work in the territory, not just elsewhere.

"If there is a problem and they're working illegally, that employer can be taken off the role, so to speak, of being able to apply to bring in other foreign workers," Karp said.

"For the worker who is here working illegally, they could be sent back."

Karp said it is understandable that employers and foreign workers may think a permit issued in Alberta or another Canadian jurisdiction

Karp says it is understandable that employers and employees might assume a work permit issued in one Canadian jurisdiction would be good elsewhere.

Employers should double-check a foreign worker applicant's status by calling the Education Department, he said.