DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE: THE ADMISSIBILITY AT COMMON LAW OF RECORDS MADE PURSUANT TO A BUSINESS DUTY

Abstract

This article examines the common law exception to the hearsay rule for records made in the course of a business duty, and guides the reader through common law solutions to hearsay problems not solved by section 30 of the Canada Evidence Act or other provincial statutes. After surveying the origins of the rule, it interprets the expansionary effect of Ares v. Venner according to the reliability and necessity requirements behind the exception. It examines the effect of these requirements on other issues, including the nature of the purported business duty, the ambit of the duty, reported performance or reported observations, transmitted duties, admissibility of opinion evidence and computer evidence at common law.