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Lisa Raitt's goal is clear and simple -- she wants to speak for the community on Parliament Hill to make sure local residents' needs are understood.

The north Oakville woman is the Conservative flagbearer in Halton riding for the upcoming federal election, going up against Liberal incumbent Garth Turner, Green Party newcomer Amy Collard and NDP candidate Rob Wagner.

While Raitt was the president and CEO of the Toronto Port Authority until she recently took an unpaid leave, these days she's busy door knocking, meeting constituents and finding out what their concerns are.

She took some time to sit down and discuss the Tory platform and her positions on the hot-button issues that range from Halton's health care needs to childcare.

The married mother of two said having children has given her a different perspective of the world and what's important.

With that in mind, it's no surprise that the family-oriented aspects of the Conservatives' plans are paramount to Raitt, like the $1,200 per year universal childcare benefit the party implemented.

"Keeping those family programs intact and helping develop new ones is really important to me," she said. "It's pretty simple, at the end of the day, whatever the government can do to make a family's life easier and free up more money in their pockets, I support."

She said while some people think the Conservatives haven't put any money into childcare spaces, this isn't true, since the government has been investing $250 million per year to assist provinces in creating new spots for children. The funding is in addition to the universal childcare benefit.

"It's a two-prong approach," Raitt said. "It's not only about dealing with regulated childcare. It's also about helping families make better choices for themselves (with the childcare benefit). One size doesn't fit all."

The Cape Breton native said she likes the plan recently put forward by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to allow the self-employed to pay into employment insurance so that they can take advantage of maternity and parental leave.

"It's a very simple program that doesn't cost a lot to implement, but it does make a significant difference," she said.

Locally, Raitt said one of the biggest issues right now is the need for an expansion at Milton District Hospital.

While funding for the expansion will ultimately come from the Province, she said she thinks Halton's federal member of parliament has a role to play.

"You (the federal MP) still have to work with the Province, and you have to have a strong voice with the Province and municipalities to build a coalition to make sure that Halton, and specifically Milton, gets its fair share," she said.

It's no secret that the rest of Halton's infrastructure, like roads, are also experiencing growing pains with the population boom.

To help meet infrastructure needs, Raitt said the Conservatives put together a plan called Building Canada, which directs $33 billion toward investments in infrastructure across the country.

On a personal note, Raitt said infrastructure is an area she gained expertise in at the Toronto Port Authority -- experience she feels she can put to good use if elected.

"This is another area where you need to have a really strong voice in Ottawa to get the infrastructure that Halton needs -- somebody who will make a great case with really good evidence," she said. "I believe I'm the person for the job because there's no learning curve."

While Halton is largely affluent, homelessness is still a reality in the region. Raitt said the best way the federal government can tackle this problem is through its homelessness partnering strategy, which puts money into community-based programs to prevent and reduce homelessness.

The economy has been front and centre during the election so far, particularly with the recently announced job cuts at the Ford plant in Oakville.

Raitt emphasized the importance of remembering the effect the economy can have on an individual.

"At the end of the day, the Conservative philosophy is to give tax cuts to families so that they can better withstand hard economic times," she said.

Residents' wallets have also been hurting at the gas pumps. Raitt said she thinks the government should do what it can to help, pointing out the Conservatives have already made GST cuts and are also promising to cut the diesel excise tax in half as well.

On the environmental front, Raitt said the Liberals' carbon tax isn't the answer, but rather the Tory plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 and cut air pollution in half by 2015 -- targets the party would force industry to meet by law.

And when it comes to the mission in Afghanistan, Raitt voiced her support for the Canadian Forces and the prime minister's position to end the mission by 2011.

For more information on Raitt, visit www.lisaraitt.ca.