First, there's a difference between SAF and 911 fees. The latter is mandated by the government, although it's lower than the 75¢ that Telus and 99¢ that SO/PCM charge.

Second, while SO/PCM calls it a 911 fee I suspect the 99¢ pays for more than just the 911 system. It costs the carrier to provide cell service even if you don't use it in a particular month. It also costs them money to maintain your account as well as to maintain your phone number. Phone numbers are a limited resource. That's why we have area code splits like 416 -> 905 and then overlays like 416/647.

While I don't like paying the 99¢ 911 fee either, I accept that it's necessary for SO/PCM to charge some minimum amount per account in order to pay their bills. I think $12/year is a reasonable fee under the circumstances. I prefer paying it rather than having to spend $10/month minimum on airtime, whether I use it or not, or having airtime expire in less than one year as other carriers charge.

Finally, as you noted, Telus is making a big deal about reducing their monthly rate by less than 10%, i.e. from $32.70 to $30.00 and tossing in "free" voicemail. Big deal. They're going to have to do a lot better than that if they want to compete with the new carriers that launch soon, never mind SO.