is attendance mandatory? or can you just go to them whenever you need help?

It depends.

It depends on what the prof wants and how the course is set up. As a rule of thumb, Social Sciences and Humanities courses have mandatory tutorials, while Science and Engineering do not.

hey shleyaa, it really depends. Some tutorials require you to have participation and is part of your mark. While others are just TAs sitting there going through the tutorial questions that may be posted and given to you. Other classes might have TAs that have a lesson plan of some sort to go through with you and then answer any questions. It really depends on the class. Go to the tutorials the first day and you should know if it is mandatory or not.