'Sometimes it's better to have a small victory than to wait for the war to be won.'

A Quebec company is pitching the city of Iqaluit a lower-cost alternative to the permanent dock city officials so badly want.

Ocean Group, a Quebec City firm that builds and repairs ships, operates tugboats and does deep sea welding, diving, salvage and cleanup, thinks Iqaluit's port needs could be served with a pre-fabricated, floating dock.

The company just happens to manufacturer such docks.

The city has been clinging to the hope that the federal government would pay for a $49-million harbour set out in a proposal released in August 2005.

But Jacques Belleau, a former Iqaluit resident who works with Ocean Group, suggested the city might have more luck winning funds for a cheaper project.

"Sometimes it's better to have a small victory than to wait for the war to be won," he told councillors at an April 22 meeting.

Belleau said Ocean Group can manufacture the floating metal dock in prefabricated sections at its plant on the St. Lawrence River during the winter, then float the completed dock up to Nunavut during the summer months, reducing construction time.

Ocean Group is building a dock for the Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. at Milne Inlet that will be installed this summer to serve the Mary River iron mine project, Belleau said. That dock will be installed in three to four days, he said.

The dock could also rise and fall with Iqaluit's extreme tides, allowing ships to offload around the clock. The original proposal called for a fixed concrete dock, but at low tide, ships would be too far from the surface of the dock to safely offload cargo or cruise ship passengers.

Belleau also said the environmental impact of such a dock would be less than a fixed concrete one, because there would need to be less blasting to build it.

Councillors were intrigued by the proposal, but had questions. Coun. Al Hayward wanted to know about the financial terms of such a project and if the city could send the dock back if it was unsatisfied.

Belleau wasn't sure if the city could just opt out, but said financial terms could only be worked out after the city and company agreed on a design. He said the city could lease the structure.

Coun. Jim Little wanted to know how many boats the dock could handle at any one time.

Belleau replied the dock can be built to the city's needs, and can be expanded if the port ever needed extra capacity.

"It's like a Lego set," he said.

Coun. Glenn Williams endorsed the idea, but cautioned that the project would still need to clear regulatory hurdles.

And Belleau said there also needs to be detailed studies of the sea floor, tides and currents in the area before the dock could be installed.

"We're just throwing this on the table," he said.

Council voted unanimously to refer the idea to the city's economic development committee for more study.

"I think it's very timely and I think it's very interesting for the city to research this," Williams said.