When asked by an analyst whether new Canadian investment rules would prohibit its takeover by foreign state-owned entities, Encana's interim CEO Clayton Woitas had a ready answer: "The answer would be no. Fucking asshole." [Reuters]

  • peregrinus

    Why did he respond in the conditional?  The syntax implies that the question was “were someone to query whether …”

    This would be should be maybe fuffle kind of response is a creeping sickness on clarity.  The responder seems to feel, through some misty logic, that they are avoiding accountability for their response, whereby they would later reply to a challenge to that response that they responded in the conditional.  It’s a bit of a mindfuck.

    So his answer should have been:  ”My answer is no …  Fucking asshole.”

    Then I can start to make sense of it all.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jeremy-Hughes/1041282687 Jeremy Hughes

      It’s elliptical: “[If I were to deign to answer your question,] the answer would be no.”

  • davegroff

    More complete answer, for those unfamiliar with Canadian politics: “The answer would be no, given that Alberta’s oil and gas industry will never tolerate more than token regulatory oversight from Ottawa, especially when our own boy is PM. Why even ask, you fucking eastern asshole.”

    • eerd

      Although no one really knows, the signs suggest Canada’s big guys are unlikely to be bought outright by foreign state-owned companies. It’s ok for US companies – ExxonMobil – to do that sort of thing, but not Asian companies.

      Just look at the delays and near misses from the CNOOC-Nexen and Petronas-Progress deals.

  • franko

    all i can think of is this: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=250

  • Daemonworks

    Our government’s quite willing to sell off everything we value to the highest bidder. Or the first bidder…

  • joelogs

    I think the word “Encana” was supposed to be in this sentence somewhere. That “its” is just hanging out all by itself.

    • Cornan_KotW

       Monty Python’s Flying Circus!

  • Ryan Lenethen

    Christ what an…