Langley Township council orders a review of every governance change from 2022 to 2026

One week after taking office, Langley Township's new council voted unanimously to review every bylaw, policy and procedural change made over the previous four years. The motion, passed at a special meeting on November 4, 2026, directs Township staff to compile an inventory of all changes to governance rules made between December 1, 2022 and the meeting date.

Staff have 60 days to deliver the report. Matthew Claxton of the Langley Advance Times reported on the motion on November 11, 2026. The Aldergrove Star carried the same report.

What the review covers

The motion covers a broad range of Township governance documents. According to the Langley Advance Times, staff must report on every "bylaw, policy, regulation, delegation, terms of reference and standing resolution" that was adopted, amended, repealed or replaced during the four-year review period.

The Advance Times identified four specific areas in scope: the Council Procedure Bylaw, expense rules, the code of conduct, and public hearing rules. All four govern how council operates and how the public participates in its decisions.

Township CAO Chan Kooner told the Advance Times that some items related to closed meetings of council may require that any updates be delivered in a closed session of council rather than in public.

Why council called for the review

Mayor Jay Lundgren described the review as a step toward alignment inside the new council and with Township staff. He told the Advance Times: "The intention is to make sure that these duties follow our traditional ways that have been done in the past, and to make sure that there's alignment between mayor, council, and the staff."

Councillor Margaret Kunst argued that changes made over four years to the Township's rules could have had unintended consequences on how the Township is governed, the Advance Times reported.

The review period starts December 1, 2022, the same start point as the forensic audit of Township finances that council passed at the same November 4 meeting. That forensic audit vote was 7 to 2, with the two Progress for Langley councillors opposed. The governance review passed unanimously.

Councillor Steve Ferguson, one of the two Progress for Langley members, told the Advance Times the governance review made sense on its own terms. He said: "It doesn't hurt to clean up some bylaws."

Councillor Michael V. Pratt, the other Progress for Langley member, also voted for the review, the Advance Times reported.

The connection to campaign promises

The governance review is directly connected to several promises the new council made during the campaign. Langley Strong's platform, published October 10, 2026, promised to "consult the public before major decisions," to "guarantee residents who take time off work to speak get their turn," to schedule meetings "when working residents can attend," and to "hold closed meetings only when the law requires." The Council Procedure Bylaw is the document that sets out how those commitments become practice.

Mayor Lundgren's promise tracker on this site includes a commitment to run council meetings where residents can ask questions before decisions are made, and to give every resident who contacts the mayor's office a personal response with a timeline.

Councillor Kunst's tracker carries a promise to restore public participation rules so residents can speak before council votes. Changes to the Council Procedure Bylaw during the review period are directly relevant to both commitments.

How the two motions at the November 4 meeting fit together

Both the forensic audit and the governance review were on the agenda at the same November 4 special meeting, two days after the new council was sworn in. Each covers the same four-year period: December 1, 2022 to November 4, 2026.

The forensic audit is directed at Township finances: its books, spending decisions and financial management. The governance review is directed at how the Township is governed: its procedures, the rules of debate, how the public can participate and how councillors are expected to behave.

The forensic audit vote divided the new council 7 to 2. The governance review did not. That difference reflects the fact that Progress for Langley campaigned on some of the same governance concerns as Langley Strong, even when the two slates disagreed on the financial record.

What comes next

Staff must bring their report back to council within 60 days of November 4, putting the deadline on or around January 3, 2027. That report will list every change made during the review period. Council will then decide what, if anything, to change back or update.

The Advance Times noted that some governance changes may require discussion in a closed session of council before council can act on them publicly.

The dates and agendas of regular Langley Township council meetings are posted at tol.ca.

Residents can follow Mayor Lundgren's commitments and those of each councillor on the promise tracker.