A Black Liberal MP took to Facebook this week to share details of the discrimination she says she confronts on Parliament Hill.

Celina Caesar-Chavannes, who represents Whitby, posted that she faces “micro-aggressions,” a term used to describe more subtle forms of racism.

“Each experience drain(s) my energy, sucking a little bit of life out of me, like death by a thousand cuts,” Caesar-Chavannes wrote in a Facebook post Thursday night.

Her office declined to comment further when reached by the Star on Friday.

But in her posting, Caesar-Chavannes said that on the day she was doing her makeup for a photo shoot in the washroom of Wellington Building, which houses her office across the street from Parliament, a woman walked in and placed her wallet on the ledge by the door.

“As she placed her wallet down and our eyes met in the reflection of the mirror, she said, ‘Don’t steal my wallet ok?’ My smile, joy and excitement vanished. She noticed, because she quickly responded with an, ‘I was just joking’ — with a little sprinkle of ‘like duh??’ on the side,” wrote Caesar-Chavannes.

That same day, the security at her office building didn’t open the door for her to enter, though she’s worked there for a year and been an MP for two, she said.

Later, they told her she’d need a pass to get back into the building or she’d have to wait in line, she added.

“To say these micro-aggressions do not bother me, would be a lie. They do,” she wrote.

In a statement, House of Commons Speaker Geoff Regan, who has spoken directly with Caesar-Chavannes, said he’s “deeply disappointed” that she has experienced “humiliating and demeaning encounters on the Hill.”

“As Speaker, it is of course my priority that all Members are treated respectfully,” he said, adding that he’s instructed both the Parliamentary Protective Service and the House of Commons Administration to ensure that all MPs and visitors are “treated with dignity and respect.”

There are both subtle and non-subtle forms of racism but they are all damaging, said Usha George, the director of the Ryerson Centre for Immigration and Settlement, whose work focuses on diverse communities.

“It affects your psyche, it affects your self-esteem,” she said.

While racism remains a widespread issue in Canada, George said it was “deeply disturbing” to see it at this level of government.

“We have to work at it, we have to spread the message around, how important it is for us to value each other, respect each other and not to stereotype,” she s aid.

Efforts at inclusion or equity must go beyond numbers, she added. Employers must examine the structures in place and whether they offer equal opportunities to all people.

Caesar-Chavannes wrote on Facebook that she’s committed to bringing change.

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“I stand for my daughters. I will accept every micro-aggression and racist insult that is hurled at me for them,” she wrote.

“I will stand for future generations of women, in order to ensure that they never have to feel the humiliation and pain, hidden behind this smile. I stand because we need more women in positions like these to change the status quo. Glass ceilings do not get broken by sitting on the sidelines and watching. They break when you stand up.”

Correction – December 19, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said Usha George is the dean of the faculty of community services at Ryerson University. In fact, that is her former role.