Yearend, never mind decade's end, always brings a flood of articles I never get around to reading. They come in two varieties: retrospectives of the year just passed; and predictions for the year to come. Both are pretty well equally useless. The first tell us what everyone already knows; the second, what no one knows. Neither conforms to my definition of news.

With that in mind, one issue that in retrospect dominated the news this year, and I predict will figure prominently in 1990, is the national question. Much grunting and sweating will attend efforts to reshape the Constitution. But we should not forget there are other national symbols in need of renovation. I have a few practical suggestions.

1. Let's change the name of the currency. It's demeaning, having to say ''Canadian'' dollars, as if they were mere alternate versions, variations on a theme. Worse, it gives rise to the notion lurking at the back of every Canadian's mind that somehow the two dollars ought naturally to be at par.

What to call a renamed currency? I suggest the ''pelt.'' It's simple, catchy, and redolent of our nation's fur-trading heritage. Think of it. ''That'll be six pelts.'' You can almost hear them thump down on the trading-post counter. The pelt: It'll grow on you.

2. Why don't the RCMP wear their red tunics all the time? Why only for the musical ride? Are they more expensive to clean? Do they present a better target? What?

As things stand, the Mounties look like any other police force. But think of them blazing down the highway in that red serge!  No longer would you sullenly present your driving license after being pulled over. Why, you'd be proud to pay that speeding ticket.

This would also fulfill another important practical objective. Police uniforms ought, as a general rule, to be slightly silly. Remember, there is always going to be a certain quotient of people who sign up to become policemen because they get to carry a gun. Uniforms that are a little quaint, as in London, rather than the sleek paramilitary getup most North American forces favor, encourage both the public and the police to think of the policeman as a sort of watchman - not a commando.

3. Isn't it time we cleaned up the National Hockey League's act? No other sporting league is so inconsiderate of its fans, so unconcerned with the sport's good name, so ignorant of its heritage. It's only because it's such a magnificent game that the league hasn't succeeded in killing it.

In no other country is the national team in the national sport hostage to the whims of a bunch of absentee landlords as to whether it can assemble its best players for international play. I'm tired of hearing our excuses: ''It's September. We're not in peak condition.'' ''We've only been playing together a couple of weeks; they play all year round.'' We even make excuses when we win: ''We had more desire.'' Translation: They had better skills.

I don't want a national team that wins because it tries harder. I want a team that wins because it's better: faster, sharper, tougher. We can do that, but only if we put together a proper national team. In England, the national soccer team takes precedence. League play must finish by a certain date, and players must be released for international play. That means getting tough with the NHL. It is a matter of public policy that the league schedule should be shortened, the number of teams reduced.

Another thing. Why can't the Montreal Canadiens wear their traditional red sweaters at home, in front of their own fans, rather than the practice dickeys they make them wear now? The rationale for high-contrast uniforms was so the fans at home could tell the teams apart on their little black-and-white TV screens. Nobody has black and white any more. Let them wear their colors.

This sort of radical reform will require that we assume certain emergency powers. I suggest we nationalize the Leafs. Besides rescuing a national treasure from its current neo-Stalinist owner, this would give us that all-important ''window on the industry.'' Maybe we could trade Petro-Can for it.

4. Let's make the Hockey Night in Canada theme the national anthem. Sure, it doesn't have any words - but with several versions in circulation, nobody knows the words to O Canada any more either. Imagine 15,000 people singing, in unison: ''Dum, da-dum-da-dum. Dum, da-dum-da-dum. Dum, da-dum-da-dum, dummmmm - da-dum-da-dum-dum-daaaa!  (da-dum-dum) . . .'' Best of all, it reads the same in both official languages.