Which of the following statements best describes what access members of the public have to...

Self-regulating professions operate under a social contract where the government grants them the privilege to govern themselves in exchange for prioritizing public protection. A key tenet of this system is transparency. Therefore, under the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act (EGPA), disciplinary hearings conducted by the ASET Discipline Committee or Appeal Board are, by default, open to the public. This ensures that the public can witness that the profession is holding its members accountable and administering justice fairly. However, this is not an absolute rule. The Committee or Board possesses the legal authority to order a hearing (or portions of it) closed to the public if doing so is necessary to protect highly sensitive information. This exception is typically invoked to protect the identity of a victim of harassment, to protect highly confidential medical records, or to prevent the disclosure of proprietary corporate trade secrets that might be discussed as evidence during the hearing.