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bear-pit session
DCHP-2 (Aug 2012)
Spelling variants:bearpit session, bear pit session
n. — especially Ontario & Western Canada, informal, usually Politics
an event where candidates or elected officials face intense questioning.
Type: 1. Origin — The term bear-pit session connects metaphorically to the perceived ruthlessness of the questioning, in which someone powerful is attacked,like a bear by dogs. The term is exclusive to Canada, as demonstrated in Chart 1. Although newspaper attestations come from all regions of Canada, the term is most prevalent in Ontario and the Canadian West (see Chart 2).
See also Gage-5, s.v. "bear-pit session" and COD-2, s.v. "bear-pit session", which are marked as "Cdn."; not in ITP Nelson.
See also Gage-5, s.v. "bear-pit session" and COD-2, s.v. "bear-pit session", which are marked as "Cdn."; not in ITP Nelson.
Quotations
1969
At the bear-pit session, Stanfield was given thunderous applause when he put down one angry questioner who said that the bill would crucify and divide the party.
1971
Liberal leader Robert Nixon campaigned in Belleville, Cobourg and Lindsey yesterday; At left, Mr. Nixon leaves Quinte Secondary School in Belleville after a bear-pit session with students.
1978
On Friday evening there will be a bearpit session during which the three leadership candidates, MPPs Mike Breaugh, Michael Cassidy and Ian Deans, will be quizzed by delegates.
1986
Turner arrived Friday night for a bear-pit session in which he took questions from the floor. But only half the 800 delegates were on hand when he arrived and there were still 200 empty places by the end of the session.
1998
About 250 women, selected by the 13 regional status of women representatives, will come to Fredericton Oct. 15-16 for a bilingual conference including workshops and a wrap-up bear pit session. From there, the council hopes to hammer out a three- to five-year mandate that will bring New Brunswick women into the next millennium.
2006
No fewer than 13 Liberals are expected to attend a bear-pit session for potential candidates today in Edmonton at the annual meeting of the party's Alberta wing, the first in a series of provincial meetings that are expected to attract contenders this spring. The meetings will be followed by five debates organized by the national party, the first two in Winnipeg and Moncton in June.
2007
Those "bearpit sessions" have been a fixture at the convention for years. They were the one chance local delegates had to grill cabinet ministers about what's important to them. The unscripted encounters often provide an opportunity to watch ministers try to think on their feet.
2013
Horne and Energy Minister Ken Hughes got most of the mic time at the lunch hour 'bear pit' session, but Robin Campbell the Aboriginal Affairs Minister got a chance to talk about his department's priorities.
References
- Gage-5
- COD-2
Images
Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 5 Nov. 2013
