University students and faculty are condemning the proposed bill to make RESP contributions tax deductible.

The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) says Liberal MP Dan McTeague’s bill will do little to make post-secondary education more accessible for most students and their families.

“This bill is a bad use of scarce resources and it will cost about $1 billion a year,” said Amanda Aziz, national chairperson of the CFS, in a release. “Reducing tuition fees and increasing need-based grants would be a far more equitable way of providing assistance to students.”

According to Aziz, wealthier families will be the primary beneficiaries of the changes.

James Turk, the executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, also criticized the proposed bill.

CAUT represents over 57,000 academic staff at Canadian colleges and universities.

“We need an increase in core funding for colleges and universities and a renewed investment in basic research through the granting councils,” Turk said. “It is very disappointing to see that all of the opposition parties voted for this ill-conceived bill, and we will work with students and other partners to see that it is defeated.”

CAUT and CFS will be joining forces to lobby against the bill in the Senate as well as urging support for a provision in the Ways and Means section of the Budget Implementation Act that voids the bill.