Disciplinary hearings for two healthcare workers in relation to the December 2020 death of an Indigenous woman at the Hanna Health Centre have been postponed until March 2023, and the widower is asking the College of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CRNA) for answers.
The hearings, which were originally scheduled to begin on Monday, September 12 in relation to the death of Lillian Vanasse, who was of Ojibway Indigenous descent, were postponed until March 2023 only two weeks before the set hearing dates; Ms. Vanasse’s widower Cory Ashley has yet to be told the reason for this postponement.
“I have requested, four times now, why have both (hearings) been postponed, and I still have not received a valid reason,” says Cory Ashley, Ms. Vanasse’s widower. “They (CRNA) keep replying that it is a privacy issue, and because it is a privacy issue they are not obligated to tell me.”
It is alleged Ms. Vanasse did not receive adequate care while at the Hanna Health Care Centre, where she was transported by ambulance on the evening of Christmas 2020, due to systemic racism.
This lack of care is alleged to have ultimately led to Ms. Vanasse’s death while in hospital in the early morning hours of December 26, 2020.
Mr. Ashley filed a complaint with the CRNA against the two healthcare workers in the days following his wife’s death and now, nearly two years later, is still waiting for answers.
A representative from CRNA told the Mail, “We do not publicly share information about registrants under, or being considered for investigation. It is not uncommon that in complex cases that the parties involved agree to a future hearing date (adjournment).”
The hearings for the two healthcare workers are scheduled for March 6 to March 10, 2023 and March 20 to March 24, 2023.

Farmers across the province are working tirelessly to bring in this year’s harvest off the fields, and in the South and Central regions, which encompass the counties of Kneehill, Starland, and Wheatland, harvest progress is above the five and 10-year averages, though slightly behind the 2021 harvest.
According to the Alberta Crop Report, approximately 74 per cent of major crops such as spring wheat, barley, and canola, have been combined in the South region, while the Central Region has combined nearly 62 per cent of major crops as of Tuesday, September 13, some 59 per cent of major crops have been combined across the province.
Kneehill County Reeve Jerry Wittstock says farmers in the Kneehill area faced some challenges with high precipitation levels in June, but says they were glad for it.
“If we had to rely on precipitation in July, August, and September we would have had no crops,” he tells the Mail.
Despite these challenges, he estimates cereal grains and peas in the area are about 99 per cent harvested. Farmers are seeing adobe average harvests on wheat and barley, with about 70 to 75 bushels and 110 to 115 bushels per acre respectively. However, due to issues in spring, canola harvests are down from about 60 bushels per acre to around 35 to 40 bushels.
Wheatland County Agriculture and Environment manager Russel Muenchrath tells the Mail, “It’s been a good year for the most part, with many producers having completed harvest or are near completing with good yields being reported.”
He adds some “timely rains” mixed with the hot, dry weather over the summer months helped to bring on an early harvest this year, though he notes there were more reports of equipment fires in 2022 compared to previous years.
Mr. Muenchrath notes one of the biggest challenges producers have faced this year have been escalating costs and supply chain issues. This was also echoed by Reeve Wittstock, who said in Kneehill County he has heard of farmers ordering equipment in 2021 and only receiving it after harvest is already completed and they have spent additional funds to repair or rent other equipment.
Starland County Agriculture Fieldman Ryan Hallett shares producers in the region began the season dealing with some lingering drought conditions from 2021, which prompted some concerns.
“During June and July, enough rain fell to carry this year’s crop through the hot and dry August that emerged,” Mr. Hallett tells the Mail.
He noted, although crops ripened early due to the hot conditions seen in August, yield “appear to be average” for most of the county. Mr. Hallett adds this is very welcome compared to the previous year.