Canadian Parliamentary Motion on Alexander Graham Bell with Deputy Prime Minister Sheila Copps to discuss the motion. Many Italian Canadians were upset by the motion due to long held beliefs that Meucci was the telephone's inventor, according to the Italian-language weekly "L'Ora Di Ottawa". The motion was still referred to years after its passage, in reference to Bell's primacy in the invention of the telephone. In an article on author Charlotte Gray's new book "Reluctant Genius", the "Ottawa Citizen" noted "…Bell invented the telephone company… [and] thanks to a 2002 motion, the Parliament of Canada continues to recognize Bell as the [telephone's] inventor". Canadian Parliamentary Motion on
Alexander Graham Bell and served as its president from 1891–92. Bell was later awarded the AIEE's Edison Medal in 1914 "For meritorious achievement in the invention of the telephone". The "bel" (B) and the smaller "decibel" (dB) are units of measurement of power level invented by Bell Labs and named after him. Since 1976, the IEEE's Alexander Graham Bell Medal has been awarded to honor outstanding contributions in the field of telecommunications. In 1936, the US Patent Office declared Bell first on its list of the country's greatest inventors, leading to the US Post Office issuing a commemorative stamp honoring Bell in 1940