Woman in fake nurse case narrowly escapes arrest warrant after 6th postponement

Lisa Driscoll, a woman who stole other people’s nursing credentials to gain employment in Newfoundland on multiple occasions, has once again avoided sentencing.

She was a no-show in provincial court on Thursday in St. John’s after being ordered by Judge Bruce Short at her last appearance to be there in person. In a twist of fate for the convicted fake nurse, the judge was also absent from the courtroom on Thursday.

Judge Paul Noble presided over the appearance on Short’s behalf. Driscoll’s new lawyer, Philip Warren, was asking for an adjournment regardless, saying Driscoll claimed to be sick and was either in the hospital, or on the way to the hospital.

“This is the sixth request for a postponement,” Crown prosecutor Deidre Badcock said before pulling out her notebook to quote Short from the last appearance in July.

“He said, ‘You be here unless it is life or death,’” Badcock read. “‘The court has given you great leeway and ample opportunity to comply and you continue to not. You will not get any further appointments or adjournments. You will be sentenced on Oct. 1.’”

But that wasn’t the case.

Badcock then asked the judge for an arrest warrant, saying the only way Driscoll will be present for her sentencing is if she is held in custody until her next court date.

“I just find it really harsh, I really do,” Warren said.

Noble decided against issuing a warrant for Driscoll’s arrest, instead making an order that she be present in person for her next appearance.

Badcock said it’s become routine for Driscoll to seek delays, without providing any evidence to support her applications for adjournment.

“I trust what [Warren] says his client has told him, but I don’t trust anything his client tells him because we’ve consistently been told she’s in the hospital, or she’s having surgery or she’s having X or having Y. And she has not been able to produce a single piece of paper, not even a printout from her actual online health-care app, which we all have.”

The case will be called again on Oct. 7 at 9 a.m. to find a new date for sentencing.

Driscoll first pleaded guilty to her charges on May 12, 2025.

She’s fired two lawyers in 2026, which also led to significant delays.

Driscoll used fake names, licences to get jobs

Lisa Driscoll, who also went by the name Lisa Strickland at times, was convicted of criminal negligence causing death in relation to the 2017 death of her four-year-old son in Ontario.

That conviction and subsequent prison sentence left her unable to pass a code of conduct check in Ontario.

Driscoll came back to Newfoundland, where she hails from, and used the legitimate licence number of a licensed practical nurse with a similar name to get a job at Chancellor Park, a nursing home in St. John’s, in March of 2021.

While working there, Driscoll used the same stolen licence to get a second job at Kenny’s Pond retirement home in St. John’s. 

Alarm bells were raised when Driscoll applied for another job with Lane’s Retirement Homes in July of 2022. The College of Licensed Practical Nurses got a call from a representative of the company, looking to check her licensing information. They found none of her information matched the information of the person who held the legitimate licence in the system. 

Police began investigating, and reached out to the province’s health authority, which confirmed it also had a job application on file from Driscoll in which she used the licence number of another nurse with a similar name.

After being fired from her positions in St. John’s and while the investigation was still ongoing, Driscoll was discovered to be working at a retirement home in Gander — this time as a travel nurse.

Driscoll was accused of stealing medication from that home in Gander, but was acquitted in March of 2026. 

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.