OTTAWA--"The Judge Advocate General (JAG) knew the truth but thought it more important to convict Kyle Brown than to get justice," said John Cummins, M.P. (Delta).

The JAG proceeded to charge, try and convict Kyle Brown despite possessing evidence it believed relevant; evidence which perhaps should have precluded them from acting against Brown; evidence which more than likely would have lead the Court to a finding of innocent.

In the first instance, the JAG knew that Brown could rightfully justify his actions by relying upon "the defence of obedience to superior orders" as defined by the March 1994 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Finta case. In that decision, the Court reaffirmed that in Canadian law obedience to a superior has always provided a valid defence "unless the act is so outrageous as to be manifestly unlawful."

The JAG also documented the impact of mefloquine in Somalia and believed it relevant. The side effects that it documented included violent dreams, hallucinations, confusion, anxiety and mental depression. Major Barry Armstrong had advised DND that mefloquine was probably involved in the attempted suicide of Master Corporal Clayton Matchee.

A variety of medical reports and studies were publicly available by the time Kyle Brown faced the charge of manslaughter. For example, an American study was published in April 1993 showing that 44% of Peace Corps volunteers in Africa had an adverse effect in the first four months of mefloquine use.

The manufacturer advised the Department of Health on July 15, 1992 of probable adverse events relating to mefloquine: psychosis, insomnia, anxiety, nightmares, disorientation, agitation, depression, restlessness, confusion, fatigue and dizziness. By mid 1993 the manufacturer had informed the Department of cases of severe adverse events associated with the ingestion of alcohol and mefloquine.

Even though the JAG believed its documentation of both the side effects of mefloquine in Somalia, and the orders defence as restated in the Finta decision, had a bearing on the innocence of Kyle Brown, it never brought the evidence to the attention of the Court.