Homeowner linked to arson accused railed against nearby Indigenous shelter
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11/17/2021 • 1 hour ago • Read for 2 minutes 
Michael Peter Belanger and Susie Dietrich are listed on property tax records as the owners of a home at 2255 River Road. Michael Peter Belanger, who works as a fleet overseer for the City of London, is charged with arson in a November 7th fire that damaged the clubhouse on the nearby River Road Golf Course for $ 1 million. Susie Dietrich Belanger, a London real estate agent, sent a letter to the city council days before the fire stating her opposition to a city plan to use the River Road golf course as temporary shelter for up to 30 indigenous people this winter. (Facebook)
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A planned indigenous homeless shelter represented “destruction” for its neighborhood to the east, complained a woman who owns a nearby house, and the man is now closed because of a $ 1 million fire at the planned site, a closed one Golf course, is indicted.
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Susie Dietrich Belanger, a London real estate agent, owns two acres on 2255 River Rd. With Michael Peter Belanger, according to property tax records. Belanger is a town hall fleet overseer who was suspended Monday after being charged with arson in a fire at the community’s River Road golf course earlier this month.
The November 7 fire caused $ 1 million in damage to the clubhouse and threw into turmoil plans to turn it into an indigenous-run animal shelter. In a letter to the city council days before the fire, Dietrich-Belanger compared the planned winter accommodation with boarding schools.
“I am writing to express my opposition to the proposal to house unprotected Indigenous people on the River Road Golf Course this winter or at a later date. How is it possible that you want to re-isolate the indigenous homeless? Looks familiar to boarding schools! ”She wrote.
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“We know about what the homeless did to the neighborhood, where they (sic) were last year. . . Destruction.”
She warned the council against setting up a “homeless facility” on the closed golf course and suggested that money should be better spent buying houses or renting rooms for indigenous people without shelter.
Dietrich-Belanger, who signed her letter without a hyphen, which appears in the property tax documents and in the title, is Remax’s real estate agent. It is registered with the Real Estate Council of Ontario and has no disciplinary action on its file.
Shawn Davis of the London Fire Department inspects damage to the clubhouse on the River Road Golf Course following a fire on Sunday, November 7th, 2021. The fire came as city officials and Atlohsa Family Healing Services were making plans to provide winter shelter for up to 30 indigenous people on the course. (Mike Hensen / The London Free Press)
The River Road property, owned by Belanger and Dietrich-Belanger, is on sale for $ 1.6 million. It was previously quoted at $ 1.8 million.
In her letter to the council, Dietrich-Belanger complained about falling property values for the residents of River Road near the planned winter protection. A call to Dietrich-Belanger was not answered.
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Atlohsa Family Healing Services, the organization expected to run the River Road shelter for up to 30 indigenous people, is calling on City Hall to educate its staff on anti-indigenous racism and invest in other spaces for homeless indigenous people.
“As an indigenous population, we are unfortunately only too familiar with acts of violence against us. The message behind this act of violence is clear: Indigenous people were not wanted in this place, “Atlohsa officials said in a statement on Tuesday.
After the arson was arrested, Executive Director Raymond Deleary said it was part of the “open and systemic racism” that indigenous peoples have experienced for centuries.
“The fact that the alleged perpetrator is a City of London (employee) shows how much further the London community needs to go in their efforts to end anti-indigenous racism and make the city a safe city for indigenous people create, ”said Deleary.
Indigenous group calls for change to proposed accommodation after arrest in flames
“Unlikely coincidence”: Suspicious fire in the clubhouse on the golf course arouses fear of racism
Damage could exceed $ 1 million as a fire hits a golf course that is set to become a sanctuary
Winter homeless shelters on remote golf courses overcome the first hurdle
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