VICTORIA — Three Green party members made history Wednesday when they were sworn in as members of British Columbia's legislature.
The trio have set a record for the largest number of Greens elected to a legislature in Canada.
Sonia Furstenau, Adam Olsen and party leader Andrew Weaver each capturing a seat on Vancouver Island in last month's election.
Weaver was the only Green sitting in the legislature when the government was dissolved earlier this spring.
He said he's looking forward to working with his new colleagues.
"It's a huge sense of relief that I have help."
The Greens are eagerly anticipating their enhanced status in the legislature, Weaver said.
The election on May 9 did not produce a clear winner, but led to the Greens signing an agreement with the New Democrats to support a minority NDP government.
The legislature has been recalled for June 22, setting in motion a series of moves that could see the NDP and Greens vote to defeat Premier Christy Clark's Liberal government.
"This long period of delay has led to uncertainty that we don't really need," Weaver said.
Furstenau and Olsen said the swearing-in ceremony was emotional and served to focus their political goals and aspirations.
Indigenous singers and drummers from southern Vancouver Island escorted Olsen into legislature for the ceremony. Olsen, who is a member of the Victoria-area Tsartlip First Nation, wore a traditional aboriginal blanket and headdress to the ceremony.
Furstenau, who was elected in the Duncan-area Cowichan Valley riding, said the three Greens will make collaboration their hallmark in the often confrontational B.C. legislature.
