​The New Democrat government gave a $25,000 sole-source contract to a long-time Saskatchewan NDP cabinet minister for "lived experience" advice.

A list of sole-source contracts released by the government Thursday shows Executive Council, the ministry which includes the premier's office, hired retired former NDP heavyweight cabinet minister Pat Atkinson the day after Premier Rachel Notley's new cabinet was sworn in.

Atkinson's job was "to provide lived experience and practical advice to ministers and the Premier," according to the brief explanation provided in the posted list of more than 1,000 sole-source contracts worth nearly $325 million dollars.

The new list also revealed what is certain to become a change in the government's choice of law firms. Edmonton labour-law firm Chivers Carpenter received a $20,000 contract in June for legal advice.

The Chivers Carpenter firm is staunchly pro-labour and has acted almost exclusively for unions against employers. For years, the Conservative government sought paid advice from firms which traditionally represented employers against unions.

The firm gave more than $11,500 to the NDP since 2009. Former NDP MLA Barry Chivers or his professional corporation donated more than $17,500 to the party since 2004. His partner John Carpenter, or his professional corporation, gave more than $10,500 to the NDP between 2004 and 2013.

University of Alberta economics professor Andrew Leach received a $10,000 sole-source contract for providing advice to the Energy department. The contract ran from May 12 to May 20. Environment Minister Shannon Phillips chose Leach to chair a new Climate Change Review Panel about a month after he received the contract.

The contracts are online through a searchable database and can be downloaded through the government's open-data portal.

"Our government is committed to accountable, transparent and fair contracting processes," said Service Alberta Minister Deron Bilous in a news statement. "Sole-sourcing should not stay behind closed doors because Albertans deserve to know where those dollars are going and how they are being spent."

But it was former Progressive Conservative premier Jim Prentice who announced sole-source contracts would be made public.

Prentice acted after the auditor general found the previous government of Alison Redford had breached its own policies when it handed sole-source contracts totalling $247,000 to Navigator, a consulting firm with close ties to the Tory party.

The Treasury Board directive now requires that all untendered service contracts between $10,000 and $75,000, and construction contracts valued between $50,000 and $100,000, must be publicly released every three months.