The initial call from atc was turn left hdg xxx. These guys were a heavy crew with a significant cockpit gradient and most likely significant language barriers. It may have been a situation where the senior guy flying was releying on the junior guy using the radio to interperet the instruction. As i have seen before, this situation is a recipe for massive confusion in the cockpit. There may have been 4 guys all yabbering at each other with contradictory information, misunderstanding, concerns about terrain AND tcas traffic from the canucks.
None of us were there but i suspect that cockpit was one hell of a s%#¥ show for several minutes.