Colin, we all know of your tea-bagger political philosophy, but let's try to keep political ideology out of these forums. Chanting bumper-sticker slogans just tics people off.
In this instance, a lake, river, stream, pond, or ocean is either publicly owned, or it is privately owned. Now, in places like Ontario, if you can hop, jump, or wade across a body of water when it is at its high water mark, you can 'own' its bottom, just as much as you own its shore. You own it, and everybody else is a trespasser if they come near it. But I digress, since no such 'property rights' exist in N.S.
In N.S., the high water mark marks the end of private property. The exposed beach, littoral, and bottom are public property. It therefore stands to reason that the water that stands beside and atop of that public land is, perforce, public water.
So every fair to middling natural water body in N.S. is as public as any public park or picnic ground or public garden. And that includes marine waters.
So now all that has to be settled is the question of individual usage of this public property. Restrictions of use can apply in parks and gardens, so restrictions, rules, and regulations can apply to public bodies of water. But they cannot be made up by the private individuals lucky enough to own a chunk of the waterfront surrounding the water in question-not singly, nor as an organized pressure group. The decision wrt usage of any public water must be made by the public at large, just as is done with public parks. It's their water, after all.
To my way of thinking, Paul has offered a perfectly fair yardstick for determining certain forms of usage--namely what's permitted shore residents must be permitted to the general public, and what is not permitted to the general public, must be forbidden to shoreline residents. "Not Permitted" must be expanded to "Not Available", because lack of public access is de facto lack of permission. So, if lake dwellers want to race wake-boats about so that large children of indeterminate age can bounce off artificial surf on their boards, then they must make sure that the general public has a public launch ramp so that they, too, can launch their great big awesome motor boats and indulge in the same kind of fun and games. Fair's fair.
If a lake is too small for a public boat launch, then it is, by that token, too small for power boating. For anyone.
Just my opinion,
chuck