Yes, absolutely. Thank you for the question. If I may, I will say this. Now when we talk about the New Veterans Charter, it also includes the improvements we've made.
With the New Veterans Charter, we hope that the veteran can return to civilian life. The steps we are taking are designed to ensure that the veteran can make a smooth transition toward civilian life and, for veterans who have been seriously injured, to ensure that they are supported and have all the services they need.
We have often talked about the lump sum disability payment. This is an amount that is paid to recognize the pain and suffering of an injury incurred during military service. With the improvements made to the new charter, we are giving veterans some flexibility, so that they are in a better position to choose. Most of our veterans decide to have the amount paid in a lump sum, but payments can also be spread out. What's important is that this disability pension is just one of the aspects of the new charter to support the veteran during his or her rehabilitation. So this is why we have an allowance for earnings loss.
In the past, we realized that veterans who had done their military service 10, 15 or 20 years ago had lower incomes. We also considered that, with 75% of the salary, the veteran had a relatively low amount to meet his or her needs. This is why we introduced a minimum amount of $40,000 for veterans who are in the rehabilitation process and who are receiving the permanent impairment allowance. These two important measures were put in place when we made improvements to the New Veterans Charter.
Of course, we also put in place programs that deal with physical and psychological support, including all the services the veteran is entitled to. When we talk about physical rehabilitation, a good example would be Sergeant Neilsen, who fell on an improvised explosive device on July 1, 2010, and was wounded. Because he lost a leg, he is entitled to all the rehabilitation services necessary to help him regain his health and to successfully reintegrate into society.