# What the budget means for tech, instant payments arrive Monday, and Meta may bring back news > Budget 2026's startup tax break and $0 fraud liability, Real-Time Rail goes live, Meta hints news could return to Canada, and a Bose battery recall. - Published: 2026-11-06T12:00:00.000Z - By: The Circuit Staff - Type: Daily Briefing - Topics: Daily Briefing, Policy, Fintech, Telecom, Devices - URL: https://thecircuit.ca/posts/2026-11-06-briefing/ Here's what happened in tech yesterday. ## 1. Budget 2026: a startup tax break, a wider SR&ED and $0 fraud liability Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne's budget includes a new Canada Growth Incentive that would exempt up to $15 million in capital gains from successful investments in eligible Canadian companies, at a cost of $715 million over four years starting in 2027-28, according to [the budget](https://budget.canada.ca/2026/report-rapport/pdf/budget-2026.pdf). The SR&ED research credit would expand to cover some commercialisation costs, such as regulatory approvals and patents, worth $930 million over five years. Ottawa also plans to cap consumers' liability at $0 for unauthorised access to their bank accounts, unless they were grossly negligent, and to help Canadian AI companies get access to 500 MW of sovereign AI computing. [Read our summary of everything in it for tech](https://thecircuit.ca/posts/2026-11-05-budget-2026-tech-measures/), or [our live coverage](https://thecircuit.ca/posts/2026-11-05-federal-budget-2026-live/). **Why it matters:** The fraud promise is the one most Canadians would feel, but it needs new legislation first. The startup break doesn't start until 2027-28. [Read more on the fraud plan](https://thecircuit.ca/posts/2026-11-06-budget-bank-fraud-zero-liability/) ## 2. Canada's instant payment system launches Monday Ottawa says the first phase of Real-Time Rail, Payments Canada's long-delayed system for payments that clear immediately, will start rolling out Monday, [BetaKit reports](https://betakit.com/real-time-rail-payments-system-to-launch-monday-feds-say/). Canada "remains the only G7 nation without an instant payment rail," BetaKit notes. The budget doesn't say which banks will take part in the first phase. **Why it matters:** It has been in development since 2015. It's also what the [Canada-EU payments link](https://thecircuit.ca/posts/2026-11-02-canada-eu-alliance-tech/) would plug into. ## 3. Meta says news will "very likely" return to Facebook and Instagram in Canada Meta Canada's head of public policy, Rachel Curran, told Politico it's "very likely" Canadians will be able to share news on Facebook and Instagram again, through Canada-U.S. trade talks, [MobileSyrup reports](https://mobilesyrup.com/2026/11/05/meta-news-platforms-canada/). "If we are able to reach agreement post-midterms … the news stuff will be dealt with as part of that," she said, [according to Politico's Mickey Djuric](https://x.com/MickeyDjuric/status/2118028552033477051). Meta has blocked news in Canada since 2023 in response to the Online News Act. **Why it matters:** It's the clearest sign yet that the news block could end, but Meta is tying it to a Canada-U.S. trade deal that doesn't exist yet. ## 4. Freedom Mobile adds U.S. and Mexico data to every monthly plan Starting Dec. 8, all of Freedom Mobile's monthly data plans will work in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico at no extra cost, [MobileSyrup reports](https://mobilesyrup.com/2026/11/05/freedom-mobile-upgrade-data-plans-can-us-mex-data/). "There are no changes to customers' monthly price or recurring data allotment," Freedom said. Some niche plans, such as pay-per-use data, will be converted later. **Why it matters:** If you're on an older Freedom plan and travel south, you'll stop paying daily roaming fees. ## 5. Bose recalls S1 Pro speaker batteries over fire risk Bose is recalling battery packs for its S1 Pro and S1 Pro+ portable speakers, including 35,399 sold in Canada, because they can overheat and catch fire, [Health Canada says](https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/bose-s1-pro-and-s1-pro-system-battery-packs-recalled-due-fire-and-burn-hazards). There have been seven reports worldwide of packs melting, smoking or catching fire, and no injuries. Health Canada says to stop using the packs right away and contact Bose for a replacement. **Why it matters:** If you have an S1 Pro, check the battery at [Bose's recall page](https://support.bose.com/s1-battery-recall) before your next gig or party. ## 6. Unity could be the next game company bought by EA's new owners Silver Lake and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, two of the investors behind EA's buyout, have held talks to buy Unity at a valuation of around $25 billion USD (about $35 billion CAD), Reuters reports, [via VGC](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/saudi-arabias-pif-and-investment-firm-silver-lake-have-reportedly-been-in-talks-to-buy-unity/). No decision has been made. **Why it matters:** Unity makes the Unity game engine, used by many game studios. Silver Lake already owns about 8 per cent of the company, and its CEO sits on Unity's board, VGC notes. ## One more thing Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk finished his second spacewalk Thursday, a six-hour, 59-minute job with NASA's Anil Menon to install the space station's eighth and final new roll-out solar array, [NASA says](https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/11/05/spacewalkers-install-final-roll-out-solar-array/). The new arrays raise the station's power from 160 to about 215 kilowatts. [Here's his first one](https://thecircuit.ca/posts/2026-10-29-kutryk-first-spacewalk/). --- That's the briefing. Have a good weekend.