Slightly off-topic, but for what it's worth, my family has been without a land line for over a year now. We use Skype. It allows us to speak to other Skype users for free globally, and they also have services called SkypeOut, where for somewhere around $40/ year you can call anywhere in North America, and SkypeIn, where for somewhere around $30/ year you can receive calls (they give you a phone number in any area code you want in the U.S. -- NOT CANADA!). Folks even make Skype phone and headsets.
So for ~$70USD/ year you've got a phone number and unlimited calling, and a program that facilitates audio and video conferencing, chat and file transfer.
Sadly, because they do not offer Canadian phone numbers for SkypeIn, we do not use that. As well, there's no 911 service. My wife and I, then, each have cell phones that we use minimally.
Back on topic, I have heard good things about the VOIP solutions available in Canada; both from third parties and from the ISP's that bundle VOIP service with other cable services.
A tech at Cogeco, my cable ISP, told me that they prioritize port 1720, which they use for their bundled VOIP. I use 1720 for the Skype installs I administer and have yet to have trouble with that or any other VOIP service across Windows, Macs and Linux-based installs.