After Councillor Tim Baillie made a request regarding the Jan. 12 meeting, the meeting was subsequently cancelled, and the first regular council meeting of 2026 took place on Jan. 26.

The year started off on an interesting note for the Township council. Before the agenda was even approved the conversation was centered on a delegation that never happened.

Cheryl Wiens, a Willoughby resident, had come to council chambers prepared to speak for five minutes. In a video she later posted online, Wiens described herself as “a working mom and a taxpayer in the Township of Langley,” and said she had requested to appear in December to speak in favour of Councillor Margaret Kunst’s motion on municipal wells and the risks of relying on purchased Metro Vancouver water.

Her delegation was listed on the Jan. 26 agenda, tied to Kunst’s notice of motion. But as council moved through agenda adoption, Councillor Michael Pratt introduced an amendment to reschedule both items (the delegation and the motion) to the Feb. 23 meeting.

Wiens had come asking for five minutes to present. The proposal to postpone her presentation triggered an exchange amongst the council that went on for over twenty minutes. 

Pratt said the reason for rescheduling was that he wanted more time to speak with staff about the motion. In the meeting, Councillor Kim Richter asked whether Wiens had been told this might happen. Pratt did not indicate whether Wiens had been told. Wiens later indicated she had not been given any notice of the possibility.

Councillors Kim Richter and Blair Whitmarsh objected immediately, noting that Wiens was in the audience for a weekday afternoon meeting. Councillor Barb Martens agreed, saying it was disrespectful to send someone home after they’d cleared their day to be there.

Four councillors who were not part of the majority suggested that even if it was decided to delay the vote on Kunst’s notice of motion, council could still hear from the public while the delegate was physically in the room.

Martens attempted to split the question so council could vote separately on the delegation and the motion. That effort failed on another 5–4 vote.

This is the backdrop to most close decisions at Township council right now. Mayor Eric Woodward’s “Progress for Langley” group (Woodward, Tim Baillie, Steve Ferguson, Michael Pratt, and Rob Rindt) holds five of the nine votes on council. The remaining four councillors (Margaret Kunst, Kim Richter, Blair Whitmarsh, and Barb Martens) cannot prevail on a vote unless at least one of those five votes differently.

And on Jan. 26, this majority won the vote, rescheduling Wiens’ delegation to Feb. 23.

This led to a back-and-forth that included remarks about attendance, including Woodward’s comment to Richter: “I believe you were on a cruise at the last council meeting.”

There were multiple calls for points of order, disputes about whether decorum counted as a procedural issue, and arguments about the council’s speaking list system. 

Wiens gave a public response to the incident in a video posted to Facebook. “I took time off work to attend their midday meeting believing I’d be heard,” she said.

Wiens says she will return on Feb. 23, ready to speak “if I’m allowed.” Until then, her five minutes remain scheduled for a future meeting, and a reminder that agenda decisions are determined by council vote.

Near the end of the discussion Mayor Woodward added: “What a wonderful start to 2026 everyone, this is fabulous.”