The Vice President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) Norm Hall appeared before the House of Commons Agriculture Committee on Tuesday.

The Committee was holding hearings on Bill C-49, the act to amend the Canadian Transportation Act.

The agriculture sector has been calling on the government to act on a number of issues from a costing review to the Maximum Revenue Entitlement (MRE) for the railways.

Hall says he wanted to get across that while the bill is a step in the right direction, there are still a number of loopholes for the railways, and issues that need to be addressed such as a costing review.

"One of the things I talked about in there was the closure of the rail sidings," Hall said. "CP is closing another 19 across western Canada, nine of those are in Saskatchewan. They say they are not being used so they're going to save costs and efficiency, but under the MRE [Maximum Revenue Entitlement] we are still paying for those. We are still paying for the maintenance of the ones that were closed 20 years ago."

The committee also heard from representatives of the railways, Western Grain Elevator Association, Alberta Wheat Commission, and more.

Hall added that they have had a good open conversation with the Ag Committee and talks about the process going forward now.

"There's a number of amendments that have been proposed, whether the amendments are looked at. I guess we'll find out in a few weeks and then there's the third reading."

Bill C-49 has passed second reading in Parliament.