Prepaid rates in Canada are around $0.25/min and $10 per 100MB on most plans. But he is such a terribly light user, that this is overkill for him... Telus is the only provider to offer pay per use data at $2 per MB and local calls are $0.30, LD $0.70.
This means that Piranha is actually cheaper considering the nationwide fee and per MB usage... and yes the no top up requirement (Telus has $100 per year or $10 per month as an absolute minimum) made it an easy choice
He can now check the very occasional email or make the odd call which is all he needs!