In late 2023, Langley Township Councillor Barb Martens stopped appearing on Metro Vancouver committee lists. A few months earlier, she had made a motion to delay a neighbourhood plan vote after landowners raised legal concerns. She argued council should seek legal advice before proceeding. Mayor Woodward bristled at the suggestion. Her motion failed. She voted against the revised plan. “Since I took that stand, pretty much everything’s been downhill since then, quite frankly,” she later told the Fraser Valley Current. “I’ve been kicked off every committee, kicked off everything.” By the start of 2024, Councillor Tim Baillie was listed in her place.

Langley Township appoints two directors to the Metro Vancouver Regional District Board, along with several committee members and alternates. These positions come with decision-making influence over housing, climate, water, parks, and waste management across the Lower Mainland. They are appointed by council, typically at the mayor’s recommendation. They also come with meeting stipends: as much as $1,068 per day, depending on the meeting length.

In some municipalities, like Vancouver or Coquitlam, those stipends are spread across their council members. In Langley, these appointments have historically been concentrated among a small number of councillors. In 2024, Mayor Woodward earned $35,760 from Metro Vancouver. Councillor Steve Ferguson earned $34,167. Councillor Baillie, who joined regional committees after Martens’ removal, earned $7,476. Martens earned $1,068 before disappearing from the list.

She was not the only woman to lose or be denied a Metro Vancouver appointment. Martens, who had received the most votes in the 2022 election, was joined on the sidelines by two other women on council. Councillor Margaret Kunst never received a Metro committee appointment after the 2022 election. Councillor Misty van Popta served on a committee in 2023 but stepped down in 2024 after being elected to the Legislative Assembly. By mid-2024, every Township appointee to the Metro Vancouver board or its committees was male. All were either part of Mayor Woodward’s Contract With Langley slate or regular supporters of it.

These removals are not typically announced or explained, but they show up quietly in committee rosters and regional attendance logs. Council records do not show a formal explanation for Martens’ removal, but the timing is certainly telling. One meeting she was there, the next she was not.

Metro Vancouver’s board structure is mostly opaque to the public, but the decisions made there affect everyday life of residents in the member municipalities. The Township’s appointed directors cast votes on housing affordability, waste incineration, water supply, and millions in infrastructure spending for the entire region. The public does not elect them to these positions though. They are appointed by their respective councils, typically following the mayor’s recommendation.

Across the region, this appointment model has drawn criticism for a lack of transparency and accountability. A recent review of Metro Vancouver’s board compensation showed some mayors earning over $90,000 in stipends alone. In practice, Langley’s appointments have tended to favour councillors closely aligned with the mayor, especially in roles tied to higher stipends or influence. Dissenting councillors are left off the list. And councillors who dissent have not remained in those roles.

Compared to other municipalities, Langley’s Metro roster is especially narrow. Cities like Coquitlam rotate Metro appointments and include both male and female councillors. Langley City has previously appointed councillors instead of the mayor to distribute responsibilities. Some municipalities aim for gender or political balance. However, Langley Township under Mayor Woodward does not. Since 2022, Metro appointments in Langley Township have followed a consistent pattern, favouring council members aligned with the mayor. They are consolidated, consistent, and rarely questioned. Appointments shift, stipends flow, and names quietly vanish from the list. In Langley, that’s not unusual. It’s how things work.