In all villages in the early 1970s, electricity was generated by diesel generators and was mainly used to supply public facilities. Very few homes had electricity. Also, there were no water supply systems or sewer systems. Residents obtained their drinking water from a communal tap or from neighbouring rivers or lakes, and they used outdoor latrines. Mistissini was the only community with a water supply system, a sewer system and road maintenance equipment. Before 1978, not a single community had an arena, a community centre or garbage removal service. Very often, the only local store was the Hudson’s Bay Company store. There were, however, cooperatives in Fort George, Paint Hills and Great Whale. The choice of products was limited and the prices were generally high, because of the transportation costs and the lack of competition.
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In 1960, the Sûreté du Québec was mandated to provide police service in New Québec. However, in 1970 there was not a single police station or fire department in any of the Cree communities apart from Great Whale. An itinerant court of justice allowed Cree defendants to be judged in their own communities.
Public infrastructure developed with the creation of new villages—Waswanipi in 1976, Nemaska in 1979, Chisasibi in 1980, Oujé-Bougoumou in 1993—and over the course of the 1980s for the other villages. Now all communities have water supply and sewer systems and are supplied with electricity by the Hydro-Québec grid, with the exception of Whapmagoostui. In addition, all of the communities have waste disposal sites, and since 2003 Wemindji has been operating an incinerator. Today, all communities have police and firefighting services.

All the communities have comparable community services and facilities (elementary schools, high schools, health clinics, arenas, fire stations, police stations and community centres). There are at least one or two churches per community. In addition to the social services offered by CBHSSJB, the Nemaska, Waskaganish, Eastmain and Wemindji communities have access to social and community services offered by wellness centres. In general, each community has a hotel, one or two restaurants, one or two general stores or grocery stores, a service station, a post office and a bank. Prices are still higher than in the towns of southern Québec, and the discrepancy increases as you go north. Thanks to regular deliveries by truck, the food stores offer more fresh produce and the quality is better. There are more businesses than in the 1970s, but there are still not a lot. Most Crees can get by car to the towns of the south to buy goods and services, and many travel regularly for this purpose.