Big weekend for Red Deer’s Parker Thompson

Four Races and Four Podiums for Thompson in Busy Victoria Day Speedfest Weekend

CANADIAN TIRE MOTORSPORT PARK – TORONTO, ONTARIO

from Parker Thompson Racing:

Parker Thompson boldly kicked off the new race season in Canada this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The 21-year-old competed in four races as part of two different series that joined the annual Victoria Day Speedfest weekend at the Toronto area racetrack. In those four races, Thompson earned four podiums. In the Canadian Touring Car Championship (CTCC), he dominated the weekend, taking the Audi R8 LMS GT4 of Speedstar Motorsport to two overall victories. In the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada, Thompson earned a 2^ndand 3^rdplace finish in two tightly contested races.

The performance puts an exclamation mark on what has been a commanding start to Thompson’s 2019 season. Thompson has been racing south of the border since March when the Indy Pro 2000 season commenced in St. Petersburg, Florida. He joined Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA shortly after. Thompson is in contention for championship titles in those two series. After this weekend, he is set up to challenge for the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada and CTCC championship titles as well. In this calendar year, Thompson has already raced 12 times within the four series. In those races, he has 10 podiums and 5 wins.Racing two series in one weekend presented a unique opportunity for Thompson.

“I’m so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with two great teams in SCB Racing and Speedstar Motorsport. Sports GT racing is still very new to me. With some great people behind me though, we’ve managed some great results. We have a great chance to contend for two championships here in Canada. Speedstar Motorsport has proven great results in international series as well. I’m excited about future possibilities that exist with that team and their partners.” – Parker Thompson

Canadian Touring Car Championship

Driven by Thompson, the #1 Audi R8 LMS GT4 of Speedstar Motorsport and New Roads Automotive Group, dominated both CTCC races on the weekend. With future endeavors in other series on the horizon, Thompson and the team had a watchful eye on the SRO GT4 America’s races that also took place as part of the Victoria Day Speedfest weekend. Running cars identically classed to Thompson’s Audi R8, the GT4 America’s series features drivers from around the globe and participation from a variety of manufacturers.

In the Speedstar Motorsport / New Roads Automotive Group Audi R8, Thompson marked a lap time that bested not only all CTCC competitors, but all GT4 America’s entrants as well. In fact, the 1:23.332 that Thompson posted is faster than any GT4 lap on recent record at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

“We’re racing guys over in the SRO GT4 America’s paddock. We’re comparing and making sure we’re faster than all the manufacturers over there. The Speedstar Motorsport / New Road Automotive Group #1 Audi R8 was on rails all weekend long. It’s amazing to drive for this team. Thank you to everyone who came out from New Roads Automotive Group and Audi Uptown.” – Parker Thompson.

photo credit CTCC & Phillip Sutherland)
photo credit CTCC & Phillip Sutherland)
Photo credit CTCC & Phillip Sutherland)

Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada

As expected of the popular one-make series, the opening races of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada were tightly contested. An incident in Saturday morning’s qualifying cut the session short, leaving multiple drivers unhappy with their starting positions for race one. Thompson would start in second position. Over the course of the race he applied good pressure on leader, Jeff Kingsley, but was not able to execute a pass. The two crossed the finish line with a comfortable margin over 3^rdplace Marco Cirone.

The starting line-up for race two put Thompson in the fifth position. Intense battles with Marco Cirone, Jeff Kingsley, and Patrick Dussault saw Thompson make his way up to second position. Heavy rain would fall, ending the race before he had any chance to challenge for the lead. The excitement of Thompson’s dramatic performance was tempered somewhat post-race when he was penalized one position for making a pass outside of track limits. The final result was third place.

After combining point totals for both races, Thompson holds second place in the overall championship standings, just one point behind race 2 winner Roman DeAngelis. The two drivers are also first in second in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA standings. Having shared the track for six races so far this year, Thompson and DeAngelis are demonstrating the tight competition that the GT3 Cup series is renowned for.

MAY 24 – 26, 2019 – INDY PRO 2000 Race 4 & 5 – Lucas Oil Raceway, Indianapolis, IN
JUN. 02 – 03, 2019 – CTCC Race 3 & 4 – Calabogie Motorsport Park – Ottawa,
JUN. 08 – 09, 2019 – GT3 CUP CANADA & USA – Circuit Gilles Villeneuve – Montreal

About Parker Thompson

Red Deer, Alberta native Parker Thompson is regarded as one of Canada’s premiere racing drivers. He started racing karts at age 8 and his natural talent and competitive drive quickly elevated him to international level competitions. By age 13 he was ranked 3rd in the world in Rotax Max karts. Now 21 years old, Parker continues his successful career racing on the Road to Indy, and in multiple sports car series.

Related Topics:feature Parker Thompson Porsche GT3 Cup

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Red Deer Doctor critical of Alberta’s COVID response to submit report to Danielle Smith this May

Alberta

Red Deer Doctor critical of Alberta’s COVID response to submit report to Danielle Smith this May

Published on April 28, 2024

Todayville

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Leading the task force is Dr. Gary Davidson, who was skeptical of mandates at the time.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will soon be receiving a little-known report she commissioned which tasked an Alberta doctor who was critical of the previous administration’s handling of COVID to look into how accurate the province’s COVID data collection was, as well as the previous administration’s decision-making process and effectiveness.

As noted in a recent Globe and Mail report, records it obtained show that just less than one month after becoming Premier of Alberta in November of 2022, Smith tasked then-health minister Jason Copping to create the COVID data task force.

Documents show that the Alberta government under Smith gave the new task force, led by Dr. Gary Davidson – who used to work as an emergency doctor in Red Deer, Alberta – a sweeping mandate to look at whether the “right data” was obtained during COVID as well as to assess the “integrity, validity, reliability and quality of the data/information used to inform pandemic decisions” by members of Alberta Health Services (AHS).

As reported by LifeSiteNews in 2021, Davidson said during the height of COVID that the hospital capacity crisis in his province was “created,” was not a new phenomenon, and had nothing to do with COVID.

“We have a crisis, and we have a crisis because we have no staff, because our staff quit, because they’re burned out, they’re not burnt out from COVID,” Davidson said at the time.

Davidson also claimed that the previous United Conservative Party government under former Premier Jason Kenney had been manipulating COVID statistics.

In comments sent to the media, Smith said that in her view it was a good idea to have a “contrarian perspective” with Davidson looking at “everything that happened with some fresh eyes.”

“I needed somebody who was going to look at everything that happened with some fresh eyes and maybe with a little bit of a contrarian perspective because we’ve only ever been given one perspective,” she told reporters Tuesday.

“I left it to [Davidson] to assemble the panel with the guidance that I would like to have a broad range of perspectives.”

After assuming her role as premier, Smith promptly fired the province’s top doctor, Deena Hinshaw, and the entire AHS board of directors, all of whom oversaw the implementation of COVID mandates.

Under Kenney, thousands of nurses, doctors, and other healthcare and government workers lost their jobs for choosing to not get the jabs, leading Smith to say – only minutes after being sworn in – that over the past year the “unvaccinated” were the “most discriminated against” group of people in her lifetime.

As for AHS, it still is promoting the COVID shots, for babies as young as six months old, as recently reported by LifeSiteNews.

Task force made up of doctors both for and against COVID mandates

In addition to COVID skeptic Dr. Gary Davidson, the rather secretive COVID task force includes other health professionals who were critical of COVID mandates and health restrictions, including vaccine mandates.

The task force was given about $2 million to conduct its review, according to The Globe and Mail, and is completely separate from another task force headed by former Canadian MP Preston Manning, who led the Reform Party for years before it merged with another party to form the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada.

Manning’s task force, known as the Public Health Emergencies Governance Review Panel (PHEGRP), released its findings last year. It recommend that many pro-freedom policies be implemented, such as strengthening personal medical freedoms via legislation so that one does not lose their job for refusing a vaccine, as well as concluding that Albertans’ rights were indeed infringed upon.

The Smith government task force is run through the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) which is a provincial agency involved in healthcare research.

Last March, Davidson was given a project description and terms of reference and was told to have a final report delivered to Alberta’s Health Minister by December of 2023.

As of now, the task force’s final report won’t be available until May, as per Andrea Smith, press secretary to Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, who noted that the goal of the task force is to look at Alberta’s COVID response compared to other provinces.

According to the Globe and Mail report, another person working on the task force is anesthetist Blaine Achen, who was part of a group of doctors that legally challenged AHS’s now-rescinded mandatory COVID jab policy for workers.

Some doctors on the task force, whom the Globe and Mail noted held “more conventional views regarding the pandemic,” left it only after a few meetings.

In a seeming attempt to prevent another draconian crackdown on civil liberties, the UCP government under Smith has already taken concrete action.

The Smith government late last year passed a new law, Bill 6, or the Public Health Amendment Act, that holds politicians accountable in times of a health crisis by putting sole decision-making on them for health matters instead of unelected medical officers.

Alberta

Former senior financial advisor charged with embezzling millions from Red Deer area residents

Published on April 26, 2024

Todayville

News release from Alberta RCMP

Former senior financial advisor charged for misappropriating nearly $5 million from clients

On April 4, 2024, the RCMP’s Provincial Financial Crime Team charged a Calgary resident for fraud-related offences after embezzling millions of dollars from his clients while serving as a senior financial advisor.

Following a thorough investigation, the accused is alleged to have fraudulently withdrawn funds from client accounts and deposited them into bank accounts he personally controlled. A total of sixteen victims were identified in the Red Deer area and suffered a combined loss of nearly $5 million.

Marc St. Pierre, 52, a resident of Calgary, was arrested and charged with:

Fraud over $5,000 contrary to section 380(1)(a) of the Criminal Code; and,
Theft over $5,000 contrary to section 344(a) of the Criminal Code.

St. Pierre is scheduled to appear in Red Deer Provincial Court on May 14, 2024.

“The ability for financial advisors to leverage their position to conduct frauds and investment scams represents a significant risk to the integrity of Alberta’s financial institutions. The investigation serves as an important reminder for all banking clients to regularly check their accounts for any suspicious activity and to report it to their bank’s fraud prevention team.”

Sgt. John Lamming, Provincial Financial Crime Team

The Provincial Financial Crime Team is a specialized unit that conducts investigations relating to multi-jurisdictional serious fraud, investments scams and corruption.