Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean, right, presented the Star of Courage at a Rideau Hall ceremony Friday to the family of Const. Christopher Garrett, who died in the line of duty. (Patrick Doyle/Canadian Press)

Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean has honoured 47 Canadians who defied their own instinct for survival to try to save the life of another.

Seven Stars of Courage and 40 Medals of Bravery were presented at a ceremony in Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Friday morning.

There are three levels of bravery decorations: the Cross of Valour, the Star of Courage and the Medal of Bravery. They reflect the degree to which the recipients put themselves at risk.

The recipients of the Star of Courage included Const. Christopher Garrett, who was killed in the line of duty in May 2004. The officer was stabbed by an unstable man after responding to a call about a robbery at an abandoned parking lot in Cobourg, Ont., that turned out to be false.

Before he died of his injury, Garrett fired multiple shots and hit the man in the leg, preventing his assailant from harming his fellow officers. His father and son accepted the award on Garrett's behalf.

Other recipients of the Star of Courage included Sgt. David Cooper and Sgt. Dwayne Guay who parachuted in extremely bad weather to rescue a man stranded on an ice floe in the Arctic Ocean in the Northwest Territories in February 2007.

The recipients of the Medal of Bravery included police officers who rescued residents from a burning apartment in Quebec and a burning house in Manitoba; individuals rescuing suicidal people and others rescuing trapped people and others under violent attack.

In June 2006, teacher Lyne Lévesque and 12-year-old students Marc-Olivier Girard and Tommy Servant Lantin rescued six children from drowning during a school trip in Bonaventure, Que.

In November 2006, Marshall Davis, 10, rescued a friend who was being attacked by a coyote in Edmonton.

In July 2005, pilot Léonard Corbeil saved his wife Lina Ouellet by pushing her out the passenger door after making an emergency landing when the plane experienced mechanical problems and flames developed in the cabin. Corbeil died after making an emergency landing in the burning aircraft near Saint-Ubald, Que.

His wife accepted the award on his behalf.