Fake nurse Brigitte Cleroux facing new assault charges in Vancouver

Brigitte Cleroux, 49, is seen in an image provided by the Ottawa Police Service. She is accused of impersonating a nurse in multiple Canadian cities.

A woman who posed as a nurse in multiple Canadian health clinics is facing a raft of new criminal charges, court records show.

Several counts of assault and assault with a weapon have been approved against Brigitte Cleroux, all stemming from alleged incidents in Vancouver between July 2020 and May 2021.

During that time, authorities said Cleroux was working at B.C. Women's Hospital and posing under the name of an actual registered nurse, leading to charges including fraud over $5,000 and using forged documents.

Patients believed to have had interactions with Cleroux were informed through letters from the Provincial Health Services Authority.

While she has yet to stand trial in Vancouver, Cleroux was sentenced to seven years in prison earlier this year after pleading guilty to similar allegations in Ontario.

Courts in that province heard Cleroux posed as a nurse to gain employment at a fertility clinic, dental clinic and medical clinic between July and August 2021, and that her duties included administering injections and medications.

Her employment at the fertility clinic ended after she was confronted by a nurse who was concerned about the way she cared for patients.

While authorities began investigating Cleroux, she managed to find work at two other clinics – but she was arrested after returning to the fertility clinic for her last paycheque.

Her ability to continuously find employment has raised concerns about hiring practices in health-care settings – particularly given there are disturbing public allegations about the convict that date back more than a decade.

The College and Assocaition of Registered Nurses of Alberta issued a warning about Cleroux back in 2010, noting that she was already then wanted for impersonating a registered nurse in multiple provinces.

Cleroux was never qualified to practice as a nurse, the college said.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Alissa Thibault and CTV News Ottawa's Josh Pringle and Natalie van Rooy