Are statements in a public document admissible as an exception to the rule against hearsay?

At common law statements made in public documents are admissible as an exception to the rule against hearsay. This exception is “founded upon the belief that public officers will perform their tasks properly, carefully, and honestly.” Sopinka et al. The Law of Evidence in Canada (1992), p. 231. Public documents are admissible without proof because of their inherent reliability or trustworthiness and because of the inconvenience of requiring public officials to be present in court to prove them. Rand J. commented on the rationale for the public documents exception to the hearsay rule in Finestone v. The Queen (1953), 1953 CanLII 81 (SCC), 107 C.C.C. 93 at 95 (S.C.C.): The grounds for this exception to the hearsay rule are the convenience of the ordinary modes of proof and, the trustworthiness of the entry arising from the duty, and that they apply much more forcefully in the complex governmental functions of today is beyond controversy.