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Being a lawyer by training, David Eby is one of the NDP’s most talented wordsmiths, a guy who can take a bad-news announcement and make it sound like a reason for joyful celebration.

He put on a master class of spin on Thursday while announcing the government’s new “rate structure” for ICBC premiums.

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“It’s long overdue to have insurance rates that are fair,” Eby said, announcing two-thirds of B.C. drivers will get a break on their premiums.

Eby said the government will punish the other one-third of drivers — the bad apples who rack up speeding tickets and cause accidents.

Those bad drivers will see their premiums go up, he said.

Great news, right? Two-thirds of B.C. drivers will pay less for their car insurance, right? Eby’s news conference sure made it sound that way.

But you had to look at the fine print and not just the spin.

The government issued a press release that said 39 per cent of drivers will get “up to $50 reduction” on their insurance bills. It said 13 per cent of drivers will receive “between $50 and $100 reduction” while 15 per cent of drivers — the best and safest motorists on the road — will get “more than $100 reduction.”