Manitoba's bait-car program, once touted as sure-fire way to nab auto thieves red-handed, has been quietly cancelled.

Justice Minister Dave Chomiak confirmed during question period at the legislature Tuesday that Manitoba police are no longer using the six-year-old bait-car program.

Bait cars appeared to be tempting targets to car thieves — often-stolen models, parked in high-theft areas — but they were equipped with devices that allowed police to track and disable them, as well as video and audio recording devices.

The program was a victim of Manitoba's cold winters and a lack of personnel, Chomiak said Tuesday.

"There was a bait-car initiative in Manitoba, Mr. Speaker, that didn't prove effective because of weather conditions and because of the fact that it was labour-intensive," Chomiak said.

The batteries used in the technology couldn't stand up to Winnipeg winters, Chomiak explained, and Winnipeg police didn't have officers available on the ground to respond when the bait cars were stolen.

In addition, Chomiak said, Manitoba's car thieves differ from those in B.C., where the program has been credited with a 35 per cent reduction in theft.

Thieves on the West Coast are often professionals reselling the cars for profit, while most of Manitoba's thieves are youth out for a joyride, Chomiak said.

Instead of the bait-car program, police, Manitoba Public Insurance and justice officials in Manitoba have put their efforts into an auto-theft suppression strategy that identifies the worst repeat car thieves and subjects them to intensive monitoring.

"In Vancouver, the bait-car program, which cost $5 million, resulted in 30 arrests … in 2006. Our auto-theft suppression program has resulted in 964 auto-theft arrests and 3,417 criminal charges for the same period of time for the City of Winnipeg," Chomiak said.

Winnipeg has long been known as Canada's car-theft capital.

The province's latest large-scale initiative to combat the problem requires owners of vehicles among about 200 models considered at the highest risk of theft to install electronic ignition immobilizers if the owners live in or commute to Winnipeg.

Without an approved immobilizer, vehicle owners will not be able to renew their registration and insurance.