The province’s energy policies are “ludicrous,” says a member of an environmental group determined to stop oil drilling in Lake Ainslie.

Robert Parkins was one of about six Cape Breton residents who made the four-hour trek to attend a rally in Grand Parade Square in Halifax on Saturday to oppose hydraulic fracturing and drilling.  The event was part of a provincial day of action.

Parkins is a member of Protect Lake Ainslie, which is fighting a decision by the province to allow PetroWorth Resources to drill a 1,200-metre test well in the region, about 80 kilometres west of Sydney.

He said the group wants to see government stop the oil-and-gas industry from entering the province until the issue is looked at thoroughly.

“The oil-and-gas industry is oversized, under-regulated and has been basically destroying areas in which they go into,” Parkins, who lives in West Lake Ainslie, said over the bustle of the rally.

“They need to put a complete halt on the oil- and-gas industry coming into Nova Scotia until they get a true handle on what’s happening in Canada and worldwide.”

Nearly 200 people put on their warmest winter clothes to attend the rally.

People young and old carried protest signs, repeated chants and listened to several speakers from across the province and New Brunswick.

The environmental group has also lodged an appeal with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court asking that the decision to be quashed.