Bell Telephone Company companies and to provide further funds for expansion of its overall telephone infrastructure. On April 17, 1880, National Bell was split into the American Bell Telephone Company, led by Theodore Vail as general manager, and with the International Bell Telephone Company (IBTC) as a holding company for its international subsidiaries. IBTC's first non-North American subsidiary was the Bell Telephone Manufacturing Company (BTM), established by Hubbard at Antwerp, Belgium, in 1882. The Bell System's Bell Telephone Company of Canada subsidiary, wholly owned by the National Bell, had been established two years earlier. Alexander Graham Bell's ten shares of Bell Telephone Company
Canadian Parliamentary Motion on Alexander Graham Bell Minister Copps commented on the House motion by stating that Bell was a "visionary" and "...an inspiring example of a Canadian inventor who, by his ingenuity and his perseverance contributed to the advancement of knowledge and the progress of humanity." As directly quoted in Hansard, the official Canadian parliamentary record: Hon. Sheila Copps (Minister of Canadian Heritage, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the House for unanimous consent on the following motion, which has been discussed with all parties, regarding Alexander Graham Bell. I move [that]: The Speaker: "Does the hon. Minister of Canadian Heritage have the unanimous