Christopher McPherson, deputy minister of Jobs, Economy and Trade, announced in a news release Monday afternoon that Raymond E. Wyant, who fully retired as a judge last year, will lead the third-party investigation into health contracts.

Among the questions Wyant will seek to answer, according to the investigation’s terms of reference, is whether Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services decision-makers exercised their authority appropriately during procurement.

The appointment comes after the former CEO of Alberta Health Services, Athana Mentzelopoulos, filed a $1.7-million wrongful dismissal lawsuit last month against AHS and the province.

"Because this is not a public inquiry, the judge cannot subpoena witnesses and require them to give evidence under oath, " said (NDP leader Naheed) Nenshi. “He is also limited to rely only on the information provided by the government itself … and then let the premier sit on it for a month. That’s simply not good enough.”