Days after his release from a provincial jail for threatening to kill Canada’s deputy prime minister, a Vancouver man with a history of mental illness is behind bars again — accused of stabbing a stranger in the heart of the city.

Vancouver’s mayor joined Vancouver police Chief Adam Palmer Thursday afternoon to announce charges of assault against Kent Douglas Meades, a 46-year-old who was on probation at the time of the attack.

Palmer said the 61-year-old victim of the stabbing was released from hospital after being seriously injured, but “the emotional trauma will likely remain for a long time.”

“The victim and the suspect in