Toronto police have arrested a suspect they believe was responsible for three feces related assaults on university campuses. 

23-year-old Samuel Opoku was arrested Tuesday evening on Queen St. W. and Spadina Ave. Opoku has been charged with five counts of assault with a weapon and mischief interfering with property. 

The first of the attacks took place at the University of Toronto Robarts Library on Nov. 22. Opoku allegedly entered the library with a bucket of foul-smelling fluid and dumped it on a stranger. 

Two days later, on Nov. 24, another man and woman had feces dumped on them and their belongings at the York University Scott Library. 

Videos of the incident’s aftermath depict a brown liquid covering a laptop and the surrounding area. 

The third attack took place outside of a University of Toronto building on College and McCaul St. where Opoku allegedly approached a woman in the area and drenched her in fecal matter. 

During the investigation, the police released images of the suspect to help identify him.

Toronto Mayor John Tory commented on the string of attacks calling them “inexplicable.”

“I find this kind of behaviour inexplicable. You just can’t understand why anybody would go around and do this kind of thing,” said Toronto Mayor John Tory. 

“This is a person, to me, who has very serious issues it would seem,” said Tory, urging anyone with information about the attacker to come forward. 

Opoku appeared in court on Wednesday at 2 p.m. to a full courtroom. Up to 50 people attended Opoku’s hearing, including many students from nearby universities. The court had to change rooms to accommodate the crowd size.

Opoku was not released on bail and a bail hearing has been set for Tuesday.

St. Francis Xavier University (StFX) has apologized to one former student who got offended over a quote from Brian Mulroney’s father encouraging people to attend university. 

The plaque was installed at the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government and quoted the former prime minister’s father saying: “The only way out of a paper mill town is through a university door.” 

The quote was referenced by Mulroney, who is a former graduate of St. Francis Xavier, in several speeches. According to Mulroney, his father said those words to him as a response to him indicating he wanted to get an apprenticeship at a mill in Quebec. 

The university released an apology regarding the quote after former university student Meaghan Marie Landry expressed outrage over the plaque on social media. 

“I’m sure you are aware that a ton of your students hail from paper mill families, and I bet you the majority of them feel 100% no shame in that … Instead of encouraging people to leave their hometowns, why don’t you teach them valuable tools that make them want to stay?” wrote Landry. 

StFX president, Kevin Wamsley, posted a public apology claiming that the words were not meant to deride tradespeople. 

“To those of you that we have offended, please accept my sincere apology on behalf of St. Francis Xavier University. In no way did we intend to degrade the reputation of those or any industries or occupations that have played a foundational role in building those communities of which we are so proud,” said Wamsley. 

Others on social supported Landry, claiming that the university’s choice to display the plaque was shameful and “demeaning.”

The ongoing SNC-Lavalin trial revealed that the Quebec engineering company transferred around $118 million to a shell corporation used in its dealings with the Gaddafi government in Libya.

Out of that sum, Crown prosecutors allege that the company’s former vice-president Sami Bebawi paid himself and his uncle a total of $26 million. 

Bebawi and SNC-Lavalin are facing trial for bribery and fraud charges relating to its conduct in Libya. 

Prior to the election, an investigation by the ethics commissioner, Mario Dion, ruled that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau broke ethics laws when he and his office attempted to politically interfere in the case. 

Trudeau was found to have pressured former Justice Minister and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould into getting SNC-Lavalin a deferred prosecution agreement. After Wilson-Raybould refused Trudeau’s orders, she was shuffled into another cabinet position and was eventually removed from caucus.

Justin Trudeau is the first Prime Minister to have broken ethics laws while in office. 

“The authority of the Prime Minister and his office was used to circumvent, undermine and attempt to discredit the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions as well as the authority of Ms. Wilson‑Raybould as the Crown’s chief law officer,” wrote Commissioner Dion.

Wilson-Raybould was replaced by David Lametti, the Member of Parliament for LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. He was recently re-appointed to the role of Justice Minister and Attorney General in Trudeau’s new cabinet. According to government records, Lametti was lobbied by SNC-Lavalin in 2017 where he discussed deferred prosecution agreements with the company’s lobbyists. 

Earlier this year, it was revealed that the company spent $2 million to fund parties and prostitutes for Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s son while he travelled through Canada. 

Preliminary hearings found that a total of $30,000 in sexual services from escorts were billed to the company by Saadi Gaddafi, with some sessions running up to $7,500. 

If convicted, the company will have to face a 10-year federal ban on government contracts. 

Former Coach’s Corner host Don Cherry said that he will not be coaching the Jan. 16 CHL/NHL Prospects game this year. 

According to Cherry, he decided not to participate in order to protect the future hockey players from media scrutiny. 

“It was a tough call to make to (CHL President) David Branch to tell him I decided it would best if I stepped away. But this game is about the kids. It’s about the hockey prospects and their futures,” said Cherry.

The game’s purpose is to bring attention to up and coming CHL players ahead of the NHL draft. Cherry has coached one of the teams in the game nearly twenty times alongside NHL superstar Bobby Orr, who usually coaches the other team.

Cherry was fired by Sportsnet earlier this month for calling on all Canadians to wear poppies for Remembrance Day. After the mainstream media took Cherry’s comments out of context, Sportsnet decided to fire the long-time host. 

After he was fired several current and former hockey players including Orr, came out in Cherry’s defence. Orr called the decision by Sportsnet “disgraceful,” while former Calgary Flames player Theo Fleury took to social media to defend Cherry. 

Colorado Avalanche player, Nazem Kadri, also spoke in support of Cherry, saying that his comments were taken out of context. 

“I know Grapes and I don’t think it came across like everyone is making it sound. I think with what he said, it was maybe just said incorrectly. People maybe took it out of context a little bit. I know Grapes is a great person and am sad to see him go,” said Kadri. 

Since his dismissal, Cherry has stood by his support for the Canadian armed forces and started his own hockey podcast called the “Grapevine.”

“It’s fun. It’s sitting around the table telling stories. It keeps me connected with the fans. I have no plans right now to do anything else,” said Cherry about the show. 

An anti-gun group has called on the Trudeau government to fulfill the Liberal election promise to impose a ban on handgun and “assault rifle” sales.

The group, PolySeSouvient, sent a letter to the newly appointed Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair urging him to deliver on the campaign promise.

Leading up to the election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that his government would implement the toughest gun laws ever and give municipalities the power to legislate handgun bans. 

“Liberals will bring in the toughest gun control laws that Canada has ever had,” said Trudeau during a campaign stop in Mississauga. 

Earlier this summer, in his role as Minister of Border Security, Blair ordered his department to study ways the government could ban rifles and other weapons for legal gun owners. 

The department report found that Canadians were deeply divided on the issue.

“Overall, participants were strongly polarized on the issue of banning handguns and assault-style firearms,” the report stated. 

The Liberals have struggled to provide a definition of “assault-style weapons” and have claimed they plan on banning guns that are “designed to hunt people.”

“There is no option that will be discounted and all possibilities will be considered,” said Blair. 

True North reached out to Minister Blair for comment but had not heard back by the time the article was written. 

Earlier this year, the chair of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Adam Palmer, contradicted the idea that a handgun ban for law-abiding citizens would be effective in curbing gun violence. 

“In every single case there are already offences for that. They’re already breaking the law and the criminal law in Canada addresses all of those circumstances,” said Palmer.

“The firearms laws in Canada are actually very good right now. They’re very strict.”Prior to the election, the Liberals indicated that they were considering using an order-in-council to bypass a House of Commons vote and implement a crackdown on legal gun owners.

A string of attacks in Toronto, involving the throwing of human feces, has seen a third victim on Monday. 

According to police, a bucket of human feces was dumped on a woman by an unidentified suspect outside of a Toronto university building on College Street and University Ave. 

Police have released a security camera image of the man believed to be involved in the attacks. He is described as black, around 30 years of age, wearing a blue shirt and gloves. 

The third attack comes after two people had feces dumped on them at separate university campus libraries in the city. 

On Friday, a man had feces dumped on him while studying at the University of Toronto Robarts Library. 

Several videos show the aftermath of the second attack which took place at the York University Scott Library. In that incident, the suspect entered the library and poured a substance on a man and his laptop. 

Clips from the incident show a brown liquid spewed all over the man’s belongings and the surrounding area. 

“I find this kind of behaviour inexplicable. You just can’t understand why anybody would go around and do this kind of thing,” said Toronto Mayor John Tory. 

“This is a person, to me, who has very serious issues it would seem,” said Tory, urging anyone with information about the attacker to come forward.  

Police are still searching for the suspect and have asked for the public’s assistance.

Teamsters Canada says it has reached tentative deal with the Canadian National Railway Co. to  to renew the collective agreement, ending the CN Rail strike. 

The union says normal operations at CN will resume tomorrow at 6 a.m. across Canada.

The nation-wide strike began last week and has affected a number of Canadian industries including the oil sector and agriculture.

Approximately 3,200 train conductors and rail operators were involved in the strike over long hours and dangerous work conditions.

The province of Quebec was facing a looming propane shortage, which required the Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp. to deliver emergency shipments to the province.

“We believe the provinces can work together in the spirit of unity to secure a safe, reliable and long-term supply of energy from each other, rather than from foreign countries who do not share Canadian values,” said the company in a news release.

Yesterday, the strike also forced the potash company Nutrien Ltd. to temporarily lay off 550 employees for two weeks starting on Dec 2.

The union has stated that it will return to ordinary operations by Wednesday.