I think there are a couple of questions. Would people be immediately happy if they received all their money up front? Probably, and I would think they'd be happier than if they were receiving just a small monthly cheque.
However, the big question has to be asked: how will they feel five years from now, when they realize that veterans who were disabled the day before they applied for the program--because it was March 30, 2006--are still receiving monthly money that they'll receive until they die? The veterans who spent all their money from the lump sum and were happy for a year or two have nothing to show for it.
I fully respect the rights of adults, and they deserve to have a choice between a lump sum and a monthly pension, but at the same time we also have a responsibility, a moral duty, in Canada to make sure those veterans are looked after and to ask the questions: “Why are you happy with your lump sum instead of a monthly pension?” If he says it's because he could buy a house, well, if I walk into a bank with a guaranteed-for-life monthly disability pension, I'm going to get very favourable terms on a mortgage, and at the end of paying that mortgage, I'll still have my monthly pension.